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Rangers-Red Sox Preview

Apr 22, 2010 - 5:24 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Texas (5-8) at Boston (5-9), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Late heroics have the Boston Red Sox in position for their first three-game winning streak of the season. The Texas Rangers are trying to avoid their longest slide in two years.

The Red Sox will try to make things a bit easier on themselves Thursday night when they conclude this series with the Rangers at Fenway Park.

Kevin Youkilis delivered a two-out RBI double in the 12th inning to clinch an 8-7 win over Texas on Wednesday. That came one night after Darnell McDonald hit a walkoff single to score Youkilis and secure a 7-6 victory to end a season-high five-game losing streak.

Youkilis, who batted .305 last year, has four hits with two doubles in this series to increase his batting average 33 points to .250.

He'll try to help Boston (6-9) sweep the Rangers (5-9) for the first time since a three-game set at Fenway from Aug. 12-14, 2008.

Texas is sputtering, losing six in a row after a three-game winning streak. The club hasn't dropped seven straight since April 18-24, 2008, a stretch that included a four-game sweep at Boston.

The Rangers may try to continue utilizing their impressive baserunning to avert another loss at Fenway. They've successfully stolen 12 bases in this series - a team-record nine Tuesday - in extending their successful base-stealing streak to 30 in a row against the Red Sox over the past two seasons.

Boston's catchers have thrown out just one of 34 potential base-stealers this year.

Despite owning the lowest ERA among Red Sox starters, Clay Buchholz (1-1, 1.80) has labored through two starts.

The right-hander gave up four unearned runs in the opening inning Saturday, while he allowed three hits with seven strikeouts and four walks over 108 pitches before getting pulled after the fifth of a 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay.

Buchholz hasn't won in four starts at Fenway Park, going 0-2 with a 6.30 ERA while serving up six homers with 22 strikeouts and 10 walks in 20 innings.

He's 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in two starts against the Rangers, beating them at home April 21, 2008, scattering five hits while fanning six in six scoreless innings of an 8-3 victory.

The Rangers will give the ball to C.J. Wilson (0-1, 2.08), who has been provided one run of support in each of his first two starts this season.

The left-hander, who entered the rotation this year after spending the previous five as a reliever, struggled with his control in Friday's 5-1 loss to the New York Yankees after a bout with food poisoning pushed his scheduled start back two days. Wilson logged 112 pitched over six innings, allowing five runs and seven hits with three walks and two hit batters.

"Funny bounces, weird spins, slick baseballs, cracked bats," Wilson said, "the only thing that didn't happen was no one got hit by a bird fielding a ball or something."

Wilson will now get his first start against the Red Sox after going 0-1 with a 2.53 ERA and three saves in 12 relief appearances.