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Orioles-Red Sox Preview

Apr 23, 2010 - 9:55 PM Baltimore (2-14) at Boston (6-10), 7:10 p.m. EDT

It's been 14 years since the Boston Red Sox have started a season so poorly. Three games against the Baltimore Orioles, the team with the worst record in baseball, could be just what the Red Sox and Jon Lester are looking for.

Lester will try to rebound from his third consecutive subpar performance and improve to 11-0 against Baltimore as the Red Sox continue their homestand Friday night.

Boston (6-10) is off to its worst start since going 3-13 in 1996, en route to a third-place finish in the AL East.

The Red Sox could find themselves in the same position this October with East-leading Tampa Bay and the second-place New York Yankees owning the top two records in baseball.

Boston's sluggish start continued with a 3-0 loss to Texas on Thursday, as the club fell for the seventh time in 10 home games and was booed.

"No one here is real happy with the way we are playing right now," third baseman Mike Lowell said. "But, I don't think we were down in the dumps."

A series with Baltimore (2-14) might be coming at an opportune time.

The Red Sox have won 23 of 26 meetings with the Orioles, batting .336. They have taken 13 of 14 at Fenway Park in that span, with their overall winning streak reaching eight.

Lester (0-2, 8.44 ERA) has also thrived against Baltimore, going 10-0 with a 2.39 ERA in 12 starts. He beat the Orioles in each of his four starts against them last year, twice pitching seven shutout innings.

The young left-hander, who has won 31 games and posted a 3.31 ERA over the past two seasons, desperately needs a strong effort after the Red Sox lost each of his first three starts. Lester allowed seven runs and seven hits in six innings of a 7-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Opponents are batting .313 against him, and he has walked nine in 16 innings.

"I just have to be better," Lester said. "It's unacceptable. I'm letting my rotation down. I'm letting our bullpen down and I'm letting the team down."

The Orioles are hitting .225 on the season and .184 during a three-game slide, as they Seattle beat them 4-1 on Wednesday to complete a sweep. They could get an offensive spark from Miguel Tejada, expected to return after missing four games with a strained groin.

The third baseman has a .305 average with 11 homers and 37 RBIs in 61 games at Fenway, but hasn't played there since 2007. He's hitting .239 with two homers and seven RBIs this season.

Jeremy Guthrie (0-2, 3.15) will try again for his first win, although he has recorded a quality start in each of his three 2010 outings. He allowed two runs - one earned - in 6 2-3 innings at Oakland on Saturday, but the Orioles' bullpen blew a late lead in a 4-3 defeat.

Baltimore has lost the right-hander's last six starts against Boston, with Guthrie going 0-5 with a 6.62 ERA in those games.