The Saturday MLB schedule will get underway with a meeting between the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox from Fenway Park. Last night, the Braves jumped out to a two-run lead before faltering late during a 6-2 defeat. Nick Markakis doubled in both runs for Atlanta, who leads Philadelphia by a half-game for the NL East Division lead.
Talented southpaw Sean Newcomb (5-1 2.39 ERA) is starting to put it all together for the Braves. In his last start, Newcomb allowed four hits and one run over six frames during an 8-1 victory versus Miami.
The Boston Red Sox have won 35 of their first 51 games and own the best record in the majors. On Friday, J.D. Martinez hit his 16th home run of the season and part of a four home run attack for the Red Sox, SP Eduardo Rodriguez struck out seven batters over five plus frames for Boston, who leads New York by a full game for the AL East Division lead.
The red sox will counter with twenty-nine year old lefty Drew Pomeranz (1-2 5.97 ERA) on Friday. Through 28 plus innings, Pomeranz has walked 16 batters and owns a subpar 1.78 WHIP.