SoCal MLB Preview

LA Angels (65-40) at Boston (61-46), 4:05 pm

BOSTON (Ticker) -- Oddly enough, John Lackey's best start this month came against the Boston Red Sox. Lackey takes the hill Tuesday for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim looking to duplicate his rare success against Boston in the middle-game of a three-game series. Lackey (8-2, 3.02 ERA) returned from a six-week stint on the disabled list in June and went 6-1 with a 1.44 ERA, but has struggled since. The Angels' ace has won two straight starts, but has a 7.61 ERA in four outings this month. Ironically, Lackey's best effort came against the Red Sox, who have owned him throughout his career. He allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings of an 11-3 win over Boston on July 18 to improve to 2-6 with a 6.01 ERA in 12 starts vs. the Red Sox. While Lackey has struggled against Boston, his team has not. Casey Kotchman and Torii Hunter each homered during a six-run sixth innings as the Angels posted a 7-5 victory on Monday. Anaheim has won six of the seven meetings between the teams and has the best record in all of baseball, prompting Red Sox manager Terry Francona to say, "They might be the class of the American League right now." Clay Buchholz (2-5, 5.81), who opposed Lackey in the last meeting, takes the hill for Boston and is looking to snap a personal three-game skid. Buchholz, who was recalled from Class AAA Pawtucket on July 11, is seeking his first win since May 7. On Wednesday, the 23-year-old righthander allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 6-3 loss to Seattle.

San Francisco (44-61) at LA Dodgers (52-53), 7:10 p.m.

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The San Francisco Giants got their offense back on track just in time to avoid a fourth straight loss. The Giants look to continue the hit parade on Tuesday when they continue their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. San Francisco entered Monday's series opener after scoring just eight runs over its previous four games. However, the Giants nearly equaled that number against the Dodgers, who had not allowed a single run in its previous 19 1.3 innings, forging a 7-6 victory to end the Dodgers' three-game winning streak. Fred Lewis, Jose Castillo and starter Kevin Correia all had two RBI for the Giants, who struck for five runs in the fourth inning to forge a 7-0 lead. The Dodgers narrowed the deficit to one before San Francisco's bullpen slammed the door with 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, capped by closer Brian Wilson's 28th save of the season. Matt Cain (6-8, 3.82 ERA) tries to continue the strong pitching when he takes the mound for the Giants on Tuesday. Cain snapped a two-game personal losing streak during his last start, registering his first shutout of 2008 during Thursday's 1-0 victory against the Nationals. The 23-year-old righthander allowed just four hits while striking out four without yielding a walk. Jason Johnson (0-0, 2.57) makes his first start of the season when he counters for the Dodgers. The 34-year-old journeyman has surrendered two runs and five hits in seven innings during a pair of relief appearances since being recalled from Class AAA Las Vegas on July 19. Johnson took the roster spot of Takashi Saito after the closer was placed on the 15-day disabled list July 18 with a right elbow sprain.