World Series GM 3 Preview: Matsuzaka meets the Mile High City

Game 3 @ Colorado 825EST FOX
Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-1, 5.65) vs. Josh Fogg (2-0, 1.13)

STARTING LINEUPS:

Colorado-
1. Kazuo Matsui 2B
2. Troy Tulowitzki SS
3. Matt Holiday LF
4. Todd Helton 1B
5. Garrett Atkins 3B
6. Brad Hawpe RF
7. Yorvit Torrealba C
8. Cory Sullivan CF
9. Josh Fogg P

Boston-
1. Jacoby Ellsbury CF
2. Dustin Pedroia 2B
3. David Ortiz 1B
4. Manny Ramirez LF
5. Mike Lowell 3B
6. J.D. Drew RF
7. Jason Varitek C
8. Julio Lugo SS
9. Daisuke Matsuzaka P

As the Series shifts top the thin air out West the Sox, who hold a comfy 2-0 advantage after winning the first two games at Fenway by a combined score of 15-2, will look to their prized, pricey free agent acquisition from the Far East to get them to a near-insurmountable 3-0 series edge.

But the venue and landscape aren't the only things changing with the teams set to play the next three contests in the National League park over the next three nights.

The biggest adjustment to either lineup is the removal of the blazing hot Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis (.396, 4HR, 10 RBI in the postseason) in favor of playoff legend but balky-kneed David Ortiz. The dilemma for Tito over the last few days has been which player to sit with the DH unavailable in Denver, but evidently four years of historic homers and walk-off hits won out over a couple of weeks of blistering the baseball all over the yard.

Other major adjustments include the ascension of un-intimidated rookie Jacoby Ellsbury, who began the postseason on the bench, graduated to starting in place of the injured & ineffective Coco Crisp and batting 8th & 9th, to leading off the first road game of the series.

The loss of Youk enabled Francona to move the equally scorching Dustin Pedroia to the 2-hole behind Ellsbury, giving the club a dynamic 1-2 punch at the top of the order before hitting the terrific trifecta of Papi-Manny-Lowell in the middle.

The Rockies, meanwhile, have some lineup changes of their own heading into the first World Series game at home in franchise history.

First, Colorado manager Clint Hurdle benched struggling leadoff man Willy Taveras (.120, 4 runs scored in postseason) in favor of rookie Cory Sullivan; Kaz Matsui will fill the leadoff spot while Sullivan takes Taveras' place in center. Hurdle aalso moved Rookie of the Year candidate Troy Tulowitzki and his .212 playoff average to the two-hole in hopes of sparking both himself and his team.

But the story of the game, which could lead to an offensive explosion for the dormant Rocks, is going to be the play of Daisuke Matsuzaka. The erratic rookie came through in the clutch when the Sox needed him most, tossing 5 innings of 2-run ball against the Indians in Game 7 of the ALCS, but his roller-coaster ways can't give the nation or the Sox brass much confidence that he will easily master the tricky ways of Coors Field.

He will be opposed by six year veteran Josh Fogg, the dogged Rockies starter who has overcome numerous injuries to become the emotional leader of the Colorado pitching staff. In the postseason he has pitched 10 innings of one-run ball, logging his first playoff win in Game 3 of the NLDS against the D-Backs.

So the focal point of the series now becomes the ability of the third and fourth starters to keep the scores low and gives their clubs the chance to come away with a win. If Matsuzaka can use the atmospheric abnormalities to his advantage, maybe he can go longer than five innings like he'd logged in his last three playoff starts.

And maybe the Sox offense will come back to life after being shut down in Game 2 by rookie righthander Ubaldo Jimenez and the Rockies bullpen.

All I know is that with this revamped lineup Boston should be able to score some runs off the fragile Fogg, and if Dice can prevent the reeling Rockies from doing any major damage, we'll be one step closer to a second consecutive Sox World series sweep.