Game preview: Royals @ Sox GM3

Perez (4-8, 5.68) vs. Tavarez (5-7, 5.15)
Fenway Park 705

Oh joy, look who we get to see take the mound for the Sox tonight in hopes of halting this hideous stretch of mediocre baseball and taking this series from the Royals...

...none other than Julie "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" Tavarez.

After hitting a decent stretch in mid-June where he was throwing 6-7 innings per start and allowing 2-3 earned runs per game, Tavarez has regressed back to his human flamethrower form, allowing 20 runs (16 earned) and 32 hits in his last four starts for a 7.71 ERA while only pitching an average of 4 1/2 innings during that span.

Ouch.

Perhaps the Sox can take some solace in the fact that Julie's mound opponent will be the odious Odalis Perez.

The 30-year old righty has played for four teams in eight years and has brought promise and high expectations everywhere he's gone, but he owns a mediocre 62-67 career record and has had an ERA under 4.00 just once, yet he still makes $7 1/2 million per year for that kind of production.

Boston's hit & miss hitters better jump on this clown from the get-go tonight, both to atone for last night's horror show and to make sure they get enough runs to compensate for Tavarez' inevitable middle-inning meltdown.

Go Sox--let's ream these Royals!