10:10 PM ETSeries: Game 1 of 4
Red Sox (54-36, 23-20 away) vs Mariners (39-49, 21-22 home)
Safeco Field, Seattle, Washington
Starting Pitchers
Boston: Lester (8-4, 4.41 ERA)
Seattle: Hernandez (8-4, 2.69 ERA)
ESPN writeup:
After the Seattle Mariners' successful road trip, Felix Hernandez will try to help his club start posting better results at home.
He'll be opposed by Jon Lester, who will attempt to end the Boston Red Sox's recent road woes by adding to his dominance over the Mariners on Monday night.
Seattle (39-49) went 4-2 in visits to Texas and Cincinnati, completing the trek with a 3-1 victory over the Reds on Sunday. The Mariners never trailed after Nick Franklin's second home run in three-game series in the first inning.
"It's a real good trip for us," manager Eric Wedge told the team's official website. "I think we would have liked to have won one more, but you don't get greedy this time of year. You work hard to win series. Our guys fought hard and played pretty good baseball."
Seattle hasn't performed as well lately at home, dropping six of nine, but having its ace on the mound could help. Hernandez (8-4, 2.69 ERA) has won his last three decisions, though he hasn't received one in his past three outings.
He's given up two runs in seven innings each of his last two starts while totaling 18 strikeouts, but received two runs of support in both contests. He's coming off a 4-2 win over the Rangers on Wednesday.
Hernandez was superb in his most recent matchup with the Red Sox on June 28, 2012, tossing a five-hitter and matching a career high with 13 strikeouts in a 1-0 home victory.