Red Sox vs. Reds: RHP Joe Kelly vs. RHP Mat Latos

Boston Red Sox (52-65) vs. Cincinnati Reds (60-58)

RHP Joe Kelly (2-2, 3.86 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, .270 OAV) vs. RHP Mat Latos (4-3, 3.12 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, .193 OAV)

Tuesday, August 12, 2014: 7:10 p.m. at Great American Ball Park

No stranger to the Cincinnati Reds is Joe Kelly, the former St. Louis Cardinal up until two weeks ago.  Traded over to the defending World Series Champions in exchange for Game 6 winning pitcher John Lackey, Kelly and his teammate Allen Craig now boast “red socks” for real, opposed to the red Cardinal stirrups.

Due to a hamstring injury, Kelly has been limited to just eight starts in 2014.  Not having faced the Reds this season does not mean the club is not familiar with his high-90’s fastball velocity and wipe-out breaking pitch.  In three appearances, Kelly has two wins, and has only allowed two earned runs in 11 innings of work.  Granted, the Reds have pounded out 14 hits in that same timeframe.

Getting to Kelly early may be the key to victory for the Reds since he yields a .304 batting average through his first 25 pitches.  Curiously enough, the sixth and seventh spots in the order have been problematic for the horn-rimmed wonder.  Yielding a .305 and .319 batting average, respectively, the bottom of the Reds order may prove to be the difference.

Here is the lineup he will face via the team’s Twitter account:

CF – Billy Hamilton (yet to face Kelly)

RF – Jay Bruce (2-for-5, 1 2B, 1 BB)

3B – Todd Frazier (3-for-5, 1 RBI)

C – Devin Mesoraco (0-for-3, 1 K)

1B – Brayan Pena (0-for-2)

LF – Chris Heisey (yet to face Kelly)

2B – Ramon Santiago (yet to face Kelly)

SS – Zack Cozart (1-for-4, 1 BB, 1 K)

P – Mat Latos (2-for-5, 2 K’s)

Mat Latos’ most recent start came against the Cleveland Indians, also an American League foe.  In what was ultimately his fourth win, Latos would throw a season-high 113 pitches.

Back in 2011, Latos took on the Red Sox and did not fare too well.  In 5.2 innings of work, he yielded 10 hits in accordance with four runs and four walks, while striking out eight.  Although, not only has the Red Sox lineup changed quite a bit since then, so has Latos himself.

August has been the month Latos has succeeded in most frequently in his short, yet traveled career thus far.  His ERA is a low 2.83, the only month in which it dips under three.  He will be looking for his 13^th win in the month, which would tie his win total in May for his highest.

Here is the lineup he will face via the team’s Twitter account:

CF – Brock Holt (0-for-3)

2B – Dustin Pedroia (1-for-1, 3 BB’s)

1B – David Ortiz (0-for-3, 1 K)

LF – Yoenis Cespedes (0-for-2, 1 BB)

RF – Daniel Nava (yet to face Latos)

SS – Xander Bogaerts (yet to face Latos)

C – Christian Vazquez (yet to face Latos)

3B – Will Middlebrooks (yet to face Latos)

P – Joe Kelly (0-for-3)

After having the first two games of the “series” taken from them in Boston back in May, the Redlegs look for a measure of revenge as both clubs head to the Queen City for a two-game showdown.  Avoiding the ace pitching of the Red Sox may beneficial to the Reds, who badly need to take both games from a scuffling Red Sox club.