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Road-weary Red Sox set to face Reds

Jun 14, 2008 - 12:20 PM Boston (42-28) at Cincinnati (33-36) 3:55 p.m. EDT

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- The Boston Red Sox are the best team in the major leagues at home but have struggled all season away from Fenway Park.

They will try to avoid yet another road loss when they visit the Cincinnati Reds and budding ace Edinson Volquez on Saturday in an interleague matchup.

The Red Sox are 28-7 at Fenway Park but watched their record fall to 14-21 on the road when they dropped Friday's series opener, 3-1. Aaron Harang shut down the powerful Boston lineup with seven strong innings and both Jay Bruce and Adam Dunn homered for the Reds.

J.D. Drew, who entered the series riding an 11-game hitting streak during which he batted .500 (18-for-36) with six homers and 15 RBI, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Friday. Manny Ramirez, who drove in the lone run for the Red Sox, left the game in the eighth inning with left hamstring soreness and will likely be given the day off Saturday.

Boston will take its swings at major league strikeout and ERA leader Volquez (9-2, 1.56 ERA). The 24-year-old righthander has struck out 96 batters in 81 innings this season while dominating the National League.

Volquez, who came up through the Texas Rangers organization and was traded to the Reds in exchange for Josh Hamilton over the winter, is coming off his worst start of the season on Monday, when he allowed three runs and three hits in six innings at Florida and earned the win.

It marked the first time this season that the Dominican native had allowed more than two earned runs in a start.

He went 3-11 with a 7.20 ERA in parts of three seasons facing American League competition with the Rangers, though he has never faced the Red Sox. He picked up a win in his first interleague start this season, allowing two runs in six innings against Cleveland on May 18.

Boston will counter with veteran righthander Tim Wakefield (4-4, 4.43). The knuckleballer earned his first win in over a month on June 7 against Seattle and has a 2.05 ERA over his past three starts.

The 41-year-old is 10-14 with a 4.88 ERA in 48 games - 30 starts - in his interleague career. Wakefield did not factor in the decision in his first interleague start of 2008 against Milwaukee on May 17 when he allowed three runs in 5 1/3 frames.