Red Sox at Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are the latest team to pick on the fading Boston Red Sox and will go for a sweep when they host the finale of their three-game series on Sunday. The Blue Jays have taken the first two contest by a combined 14-1 score, and the Red Sox reportedly held a players-only meeting after Saturday’s setback.
“We got a good club," Boston first baseman Mike Napoli told ESPNBoston.com. “We’ve just got to go out there and take the bull by the horns, get it done. But we’ve got a good team. There are a lot of guys in here who can play the game of baseball, and they’re proven guys, and we know that we have to do better." The Red Sox have dropped seven of their last eight games and are averaging two runs in that span. The Blue Jays have outscored their opponents 19-2 during their three-game winning streak as the pitching staff begins to settle in after a rough start. Edwin Encarnacion is leading the offense with four RBIs and three runs scored in the series.
TV: 1:07 p.m. ET, MLBN, NESN (Boston), RSN (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Clay Buchholz (1-4, 6.03 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH R.A. Dickey (1-3, 4.38)
Buchholz and the starting pitchers are another big problem area for Boston, and the nominal ace has not won since Opening Day. Buchholz was ripped for 10 runs (nine earned) over nine innings in his last two games after a pair of encouraging outings. His shortest turn of the season came at home against Toronto on April 28, when he was reached for five runs (four earned) on six hits and a walk in 2 2/3 frames.
Dickey posted his first win of the season on Monday, when he held the New York Yankees to one run on three hits and three walks. That came on the heels of a start at Boston in which the knuckleball specialist was reached for four runs and nine hits over seven innings in a loss. Dickey went 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA in four starts against the Red Sox last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Red Sox are playing the final game of a stretch of 22 straight against American League East rivals.
2. Toronto 3B Josh Donaldson is 5-for-9 with three runs scored and two RBIs in the series.
3. Boston hired Carl Willis to replace the dismissed Juan Nieves as pitching coach.