Apr 22, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher
Aaron Sanchez(41) throws a pitch during the first inning in a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Pitching Matchups @ Fenway Park:
April 27th @ 6:10 PM ET;
- Aaron Sanchez (1-2, 5.14 ERA) vs. Joe Kelly (1-0, 4.08 ERA)
- Don’t let the ERA fool you; Sanchez is the real deal of young talent. He has been hit a lot and has walked a lot of batters, yet he has only given up 8 earned runs in 14 innings. If the bullpen could pitch the other 4 innings without giving up a couple runs, Sanchez could have been on the line for the win, instead of recording the losses. Kelly will have to pitch well to make sure that he bleeds less runs than Sanchez will.
April 28th @ 6:10 PM ET;
- Drew Hutchison (2-0, 5.48 ERA) vs. Clay Buchholz (1-2, 4.84 ERA)
- The battle of the two headcases. In the two previous outings before his game at home against the Orioles, Hutchison looked anything but an ace, giving up 11 runs in 9 innings on 14 hits. Then, in his most recent start, he held Baltimore to only 2 runs on 4 hits in 8 innings, making quick work of the opposing batters, like he has been the ace of the franchise for years. Buchholz should be able to relate, over the past couple seasons. The two starters will be carefully watched by their managers, as well as their fans, to see which of them will mentally bring the A-game and which one may fail at trumping the other team.
April 29th @ 6:10 PM ET;
- R.A. Dickey (0-2, 5.25 ERA) vs. Rick Porcello (1-2, 6.48 ERA)
- Pick your poison, Blue Jays and Red Sox fans. Talk about inconsistency. We have a knuckle-ball pitcher in Dickey who was recently lit up by the Tampa Bay Rays for 7 runs on 9 hits in only 4.2 innings, who hit a batter and had a passed ball by his most reliable catcher Josh Thole, who supposedly knows how to catch him better than anyone in the league. Then, with Porcello, you have a starter who can’t seem to find a groove to keep teams off of the scoreboard, giving up 15 runs on 22 hits in his last 19 innings. Could be some big scores put up that night.