The Red Sox enter play tonight in sole position of 4th place in the AL East, one game ahead of the New York Yankees, The Sox sit just 1.5 games back in the Wild Card hunt and 2.5 games back of the third place Toronto Blue Jays.
Starting as The Opener tonight is Joe Jacques. Jacques (Jakes, like many of the contributors to Over the Monster) has made 12 appearances for Boston - all out of the pen - entering tonight's start. With a 4.26 ERA / 2.10 FIP in the limited sample he might cruise through an inning or two but his season high - 33 pitches two times - limits the ceiling on his opening.