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Buchholz, Galarraga face off when Red Sox meet Tigers

May 7, 2008 - 12:37 PM Boston (22-13) at Detroit (14-20) 7:05 pm EDT

DETROIT (Ticker) - With the teams streaking in opposite directions, the Boston Red Sox will look to stay on a positive course when they visit the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday in the third of a four-game series.

The Red Sox took the first two games of the series and have won five in a row overall, outscoring the opposition 37-13 over that span.

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz hit back-to-back homers and Tim Wakefield dominated the Tigers lineup in Tuesday's 5-0 win, allowing two hits in eight scoreless frames while striking out six and not issuing a walk.

The loss marked the fourth setback in a row for Detroit, which just cannot seem to find any offensive consistency. Manager Jim Leyland has used different lineup combinations in the past two games, and the club has responded with a total of three runs.

But Wednesday's matchup could be less about offense and more about pitching, as a pair of promising young righthanders are set to square off.

Detroit will attempt to snap its slide behind rookie Armando Galarraga (2-1, 1.87 ERA).

The 26-year-old righthander allowed just seven total hits in his first three starts of the season but came back to the pack in his last outing, yielding four runs - two earned - and six hits in six innings at Minnesota to suffer his first career loss.

Boston will counter with rookie Clay Buchholz (2-2, 3.71). The 23-year-old is coming off three solid outings in a row, going 2-1 while combining to allow three earned runs in 19 1/3 innings.

However, both of Buchholz's setbacks this season have come on the road, where he is 0-2 with a 6.48 ERA.