Blue Jays at Red Sox
The Toronto Blue Jays are doing their part to make sure the Boston Red Sox’s rotation ERA continues to climb. The Blue Jays will try to get to another starter early and often when they visit the Red Sox for the rubber match of a three-game series on Wednesday.
Toronto beat up Joe Kelly and Clay Buchholz in the first two games of the series, and Boston’s offense was only able to dig the staff out of the hole in the series opener. Buchholz lasted only 2 2/3 innings on Tuesday as the Red Sox’s rotation ERA ballooned to a major-league worst 6.03. Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson each homered while Edwin Encarnacion broke out of a slump with two hits and a pair of RBIs as the Blue Jays took Tuesday’s meeting 11-8. Hanley Ramirez clubbed his ninth home run for Boston in the loss.
TV: 6:10 p.m. ET, SNET (Toronto), NESN (Boston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH R.A. Dickey (0-2, 5.25 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH Rick Porcello (1-2, 6.48)
Dickey managed to cut his walk total to one in his last outing but did not strike out a batter while allowing seven earned runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings at Tampa Bay. The veteran knuckleballer yielded a pair of home runs in each of his last two outings. Dickey was tough on Boston in 2014, going 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA in five starts.
Porcello was the centerpiece of the offseason pitching overhaul and was handed a four-year, $82.5 million contract extension before making his season debut. The 26-year-old is having some trouble living up to that contract and has been reached for a total of 12 runs and 18 hits in 11 innings over his last two starts. Porcello is 2-5 with a 4.70 ERA in eight career games against Toronto.
WALK-OFFS
1. Red Sox 3B Pablo Sandoval is 7-for-9 with a pair of home runs in the last three games.
2. Toronto CF Kevin Pillar is 5-for-8 in the series.
3. Boston has allowed at least five runs in each of the last five games.