Pedroia Returns Tonight

After missing 43 straight games with his broken foot, Red Sox heart and soul Dustin Pedroia will make his return tonight when the club squares off with the Angels at Fenway Park. The game will kick off a crucial 9-game home stand for Boston, who is 5.5 games back of both New York and Tampa Bay in the hunt for the AL East title.

If you ask me, this is clearly the biggest home stand of the season. The Sox need to go at least 6-3 on this stand -- likely more like 7-2 or 8-1 -- in order to tighten this race to where it needs to be before we face Tampa and New York again. We do still play both of those teams 6 times each, but unless we sweep all 6 games, there will be more work to do. The Sox need to start picking up games right now. The Yankees have been slumping a bit of late, and our best hope is that the return of Dustin Pedroia is just the spark that we need. Clay Buchholz (13-5, 2.49 ERA) goes tonight against the Angels. As long as he stays consistent and the offense can get something going, we should be alright.

Tim Kurkjian on ESPN said earlier today that he was "absolutely certain" that the Rays and Yankees will both be in the postseason. With still a month and a half to go, I can't exactly sign off on Kurkjian's views just yet. After this 9-game homestand, he'll either be proud of his correct analysis or scratching his head over the developing 3-team battle.