Red Sox at Blue Jays
The Boston Red Sox are 46-35 at the season's halfway point and have taken over first place in the American League East as they try for a three-game sweep over the Blue Jays in Toronto on Sunday. Chris Sale, their ace left-hander, said it's only going to get better after he improved to 11-3 with another masterful performance in Saturday's 7-1 victory -- Boston's third in a row and fifth in six games.
"It's going to be fun when we get going," Sale told reporters after increasing his chances of starting in the All-Star Game. "It says a lot about our guys and our team that we've battled through some things schedule-wise, injury-wise and things like that. When we start putting it together, it's going to be a scary thing." Last-place Toronto (37-43), which has lost three straight and seven of its last nine contests, is 8 1/2 games behind the Red Sox. The Blue Jays are struggling to hit with runners in scoring position as they are batting .150 over the last five games and hit .160 in June at home in that situation. Boston's Drew Pomeranz is 1-0 with a 2.04 ERA in his last three turns and opposes Joe Biagini, who is probably making his final start with Aaron Sanchez poised to rejoin the rotation.
TV: 1:07 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), TVA Sports, Sportsnet (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH Drew Pomeranz (7-4, 3.81 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Joe Biagini (2-7, 4.50)
Pomeranz allowed one run (unearned) and four hits while striking out seven in five innings of a 9-2 victory over Minnesota on Tuesday. The 28-year-old Tennessee native is 4-1 in his last seven starts, yielding two runs or fewer in six contests and lowering his ERA by 1.16 during that span. Toronto's roster is batting .194 versus Pomeranz, who is 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA in four games (two starts) versus the Blue Jays after pitching 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief when last facing them Oct. 2.
Biagini permitted three runs, five hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings of a 3-1 loss to Baltimore on Tuesday. The 27-year-old Californian is 2-6 with a 4.93 ERA in 10 starts since coming out of the bullpen in his first 74 career games. Biagini is 1-1 with a 4.05 ERA in 11 games -- all in relief -- against Boston after retiring all seven batters he faced in back-to-back appearances against the Red Sox on April 19 and 20.
WALK-OFFS
1. Boston scored twice in the first inning Saturday, increasing Toronto's ERA in the opening frame to 6.19 this season -- second-worst in the AL to Boston's 6.33.
2. The Red Sox's Dustin Pedroia extended his club record by recording his 100th straight errorless game at second base Saturday. The old standard of 98 was set by Pedroia in 2009 and 2010.
3. Blue Jays LF Steve Pearce homered Saturday and is 14-for-29 with two homers and seven RBIs in nine games since returning from a calf injury.