Texas (16-23) at Boston (25-14)

Pedro Martinez looks to bounce back from a groin injury as the Boston Red Sox try to complete a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park.

Martinez, who allowed five runs and eight hits in a 5-0 loss at Minnesota on Friday, felt pain in his groin while warming up for the fourth inning. He pitched the fourth and the fifth innings before coming out of the game.

Martinez is 3-2 with an ERA of 3.15 this year. The right-hander entered the season with a career 2.62 ERA.

Martinez is looking to continue his dominance of Texas. He’s 7-1 with 82 strikeouts and a 1.30 ERA in nine career starts against the Rangers. The three-time Cy Young award winner has shut down some of Texas’ best hitters.

Rangers slugger Alex Rodriguez is batting .160 with one home run and 11 strikeouts in 25 career at bats against the Red Sox ace. Teammate Juan Gonzalez is 3-for-15 lifetime against him.

Boston is vying for its fifth series sweep of the season.

Nomar Garciaparra hit a two-run homer to extend his hitting streak to 15 games as the Red Sox beat the Rangers 7-1 on Wednesday.

David Ortiz also drove in two runs as the Red Sox won for the fifth time in seven games.

Texas lost for the fifth time in six games. In their last 16 games in Fenway Park, the Rangers are 2-14.

Carl Everett went 1-for-4 Wednesday and knocked in his team-leading 35th RBI. Everett has hit well against his former team. The Rangers outfielder is batting .368 with four home runs in 15 career games against the Red Sox. He’s hitting 2-for-8 in the first two games of the series.

STANDINGS: Rangers - 4th place, 8 GB, AL West. Red Sox - 2nd place, 1 GB, AL East.

RANGERS PROBABLE STARTER: Alan Benes (0-1, 4.63 ERA). Benes began the year in the Cincinnati Reds bullpen before being pickup up off waivers by Texas. The right-hander was shelled for four runs in just 3 1-3 innings of a 4-4 loss to Cleveland on Saturday. Benes was 0-0 with a 2.16 ERA and one save in three appearances out of the Reds bullpen.

RED SOX PROBABLE STARTER: Martinez (3-2, 3.15 ERA). Martinez is 2-1 with a 4.87 ERA in three starts at Fenway Park.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Rangers - Hank Blalock, .378 avg.; Juan Gonzalez, 13 HRs; Carl Everett, 34 RBIs and 36 runs; Alex Rodriguez, 5 SBs. Red Sox - Manny Ramirez, .331 avg.; Garciaparra, 7 HRs and 31 runs; Shea Hillenbrand, 30 RBIs; Johnny Damon, 9 SBs.

SEASON SERIES: Red Sox, 3-2.

STREAKS AND NOTES: Rangers - 3B Blalock’s .378 batting average leads the AL. … DH Rafael Palmeiro is batting .194 in his last 10 games with six hits in 31 at-bats. … Texas has four of the top eight home run hitters in the AL. Everett’s 13 homers tops the AL. Red Sox - Boston and Atlanta are the only teams with at least 12 wins at home and on the road. … The Red Sox are tied with the New York Yankees for most runs in the majors with 233. … Boston’s relievers allowed 36 earned runs in 44 1-3 innings in the first 13 games for a 7.30 ERA. In the last nine games, they’ve allowed four earned runs in 29 innings.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Rangers - 6-11 on the road; Red Sox - 13-4 at home.

INJURIES: Rangers - C Todd Greene (hamstring), 15-day DL; OF Doug Glanville (hamstring), 15-day DL; RHP Chan Ho Park (back), 15-day DL; RHP Ismael Valdes (shoulder), 15-day DL; RHP Jeff Zimmerman (elbow), 60-day DL; OF Rusty Greer (neck), 60-day DL. Red Sox - RHP Chad Fox (left oblique), 15-day DL; LHP Matt White (right oblique), 15-day DL.