The Boston Red Sox play the Detroit Tigers on Thursday in Game 5 of their AL championship series. The game starts at 8 p.m. ET. Listen to the live radio broadcast HERE.
Detroit bounced back on Wednesday with a win after dropping two straight games. With the series split, Boston is keen to let the momentum shift.
"The one thing when we've been in stretches like this, we continually do a very good job of creating opportunities," Boston manager John Farrell said, via ESPN. "We did that (Wednesday). We haven't done it so much in the first three games. But that's a tip of the hat to the pitching that we've been facing."
Jon Lester (1-1, 1.93 ERA) is set to take the mound for Boston in Game 5. Lester has pitched well in the series, but he realizes the Tigers will have an even better idea of what to expect from him on Thursday.
"These guys are smart hitters, they know how I've gotten them out in the past and they know how they've gotten hits in the past," said Lester. "You have to take somewhere in the middle and adjust off that."
Detroit sends out Anibal Sanchez to duel opposite of Lester. Sanchez (1-1, 4.35) earned the win in Game 1 against Boston after pitching six innings without allowing a hit; he fanned 12 Red Sox batters in the outing.
"My pitches were moving really good that day," Sanchez said. "I was ahead in some counts, that helped me striking them out. That was the key. That helped me that day."
