Red Sox at Blue Jays
After avoiding a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium and reclaiming a share of first place in the American League East, the Boston Red Sox will wrap up a 10-game road trip with the first of three games at the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night. The Red Sox, who are 9-9 since their 17-2 start, send ace Chris Sale to the mound in the series opener.
Rogers Centre has been a favorite venue for Sale, who has posted a 5-1 record and 1.36 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts) while striking out 60 in 53 innings. J.D. Martinez hit a tiebreaking home in Thursday's 5-4 victory for Boston, which won two of three at Toronto in April - with all the games decided by one run. Aaron Sanchez will oppose Sale and looks to give a boost to a sagging Blue Jays starting rotation that saw its ERA rise to 5.53 after J.A. Happ was roughed up in Thursday's 9-3 loss to Seattle, the team's sixth defeat in nine games. “We know we’re capable of a lot more as a group,” Happ said. “We haven’t hit our stride together, I know that for sure. I know that’ll come.”
TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, MLB Network, NESN (Boston), Sportsnet One (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH Chris Sale (3-1, 2.02 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Aaron Sanchez (2-3, 4.14)
Sale allowed one run or less for the fifth time in eight starts with a dominant outing at Texas on Sunday, striking out a season-high 12 batters while allowing only four hits. It was the fourth straight quality start for the 29-year-old, who has yet to allow more than three runs. Josh Donaldson is 7-for-27 with four homers and eight RBIs off Sale, who is 3-1 in five starts versus Toronto since joining Boston.
Sanchez is coming off his worst start of the season, lasting only 3 2/3 innings and giving up four runs for the second straight outing in Saturday's 5-3 setback at Tampa Bay. He did not factor in the decision despite a solid outing against visiting Boston on April 25, when he struck out a season-high eight and permitted two runs on only three hits. He has held Xander Bogaerts and Hanley Ramirez to a combined 6-for-38.
WALK-OFFS
1. Blue Jays DH Kendrys Morales is hitless in his last 28 at-bats, dropping his batting average to .143.
2. Martinez, riding an 11-game hitting streak, had a three-run homer in the series finale at Toronto on April 26.
3. Donaldson was 4-for-8 in the past two games after going 0-for-14 in his previous four contests.