Just the facts, maam: Sox at Indians

Here’s a look at tonight’s 7:05 face off back at the Jake. With Josh “I’ll say whatever the f&%* I want” Beckett on the mound and the team rolling a bit, Boston has to feel good about taking Game 3, don’t you think.

Jack Webb and Ben Alexander: Big Baseball Reference dudes.

Then again, there is the Fausto Carmona revenge factor. And doesn’t Fausto Carmona’s revenge sound like a C-rate action flick where Antonio Banderas tries to ressurect his career? Yeah, we thought so, too.

Anyway, here’s the stats, dragnet style, courtesy Baseball Reference

NOTABLES

- Tonight is David Ortiz’s first night back as a DH in almost a week. Interesting that he would start a return against a guy he owned for dramatic walk-offs in Fenway a year ago, isn’t it?

- Julio Lugo is in the middle of a career-best 14-game hitting streak. The guy is hitting everything right now. He’s so hot, he may even redeem half of that huge Theo Epstein contract by the end of August … if he can keep it up, of course. So, the question becomes: why do you sit a guy who’s in the middle of a 14-game hitting streak? We really have no idea. Good luck figuring out Tito’s thought process on that one.

- The way the lineups have been scattered lately, you can’t trust anything until Terry Francona walks out to hand over the card. That being said, it’ll be fascinating to see where the blazing hot Coco Crisp bats. He was fifth last night, has hit eighth, lead off and just about everywhere else lately. The one thing that we know at the moment is that wherever he bats, he’s been knocking the ball around.

- From the “Wow, he actually took the road less traveled?” file: Pitcher Joel Pineiro, who was designated for assignment Sunday to make room for Jon Lester, actually accepted a spot in Pawtucket, where he’s planned to pitch tonight. When was the last time you can remember an established major leaguer actually sticking with the team at a lower level? It boggles the mind doesn’t it? And it has to make Sox fans feel a lot better about Pineiro, too. Think he wants to win a World Series ring really, really bad? We sure do.

– Cameron Smith