Red Sox Series Preview: Round 2 at Blue Jays

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May 6, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays catcher

Russell Martin

hits a solo home run against New York Yankees in the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Round Two against the Toronto Blue Jays (14-15) will be held at the Rogers Centre. The Boston Red Sox (13-15) had a day off, yesterday, where they needed to regroup from a homestand that was less than spectacular.

The Blue Jays are 5-5 in their last 10 games, coming into the series with a win to build on. The Red Sox are 3-7 in the same amount of time, losing their last game before crossing the border into Canada. Neither team is in last place, as the Baltimore Orioles took care of that, recently, by losing 3 games in a row. However, winning the series against a division rival would be a big help to both clubs not following suit.

Check out this series’ tale of the tape:

May 4, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher

Clay Buchholz

(11) delivers a pitch during the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Pitching Matchups @ Blue Jays (Rogers Centre):

May 8th @ 7:07 PM ET

Wade Miley (1-3, 7.15 ERA) vs. Aaron Sanchez (2-2, 4.62 ERA)
Your guess is as good as anybody’s when it comes to Miley. After only pitching 2.1 innings against the Baltimore Orioles, giving up 6 runs on 5 hits, he pitched 7.0 innings against the New York Yankees, giving up only 3 runs on 7 hits. Nothing of this looks commanding, but the Red Sox would rather see Miley have the latter result, except actually get the win this time. Both games were losses on Miley’s record.
Sanchez has not allowed more than 3 runs in his last 5 starts for the Blue Jays. His stuff can be beastly, but has been susceptible to giving up costly hits with runners in scoring position.

May 9th @ 1:07 PM ET

Joe Kelly (1-1, 5.72 ERA) vs. Drew Hutchison (2-0, 7.47 ERA)
Don’t let his record fool you; Hutchison is definitely suffering on the mound. He has given up a combined 14 runs in his last three starts, lasting only into the 5th inning. Those performances put a ton of pressure on the bullpen to hold the other team from doing any more damage. Look for the Red Sox to try to capitalize once Hutchison goes down.
Kelly has given up 5 runs in each of his last 3 starts, giving up 22 hits in that span. He has also struck out 20 opposing batters, too. These results could be from a young man trying too hard to justify the trade that the Red Sox made for him, a year ago. Kelly needs to rely on his defense to make some groundball outs by keeping more of his pitches lower, as he either whiffs the bat or serves it up a juicy pitch.

May 10th @ 1:07 PM ET

Clay Buchholz (1-4, 6.03 ERA) vs. R.A. Dickey (1-3, 4.38 ERA)
Buchholz has given up 9 runs in his last 9 innings, bleeding runs continuously. It feels slow and painful to Red Sox Nation, seeing him struggle on the mound.
Dickey may be having a less-than-stellar start to 2015, but his last start was fantastic, if you are a Blue Jays fan. Against the Yankees, whom he has a great history of success against, Dickey threw 8 strong innings, giving up only 3 hits and a run, earning him the victory. However, the Red Sox are not the Yankees, by any means. Dickey gave up 17 runs in his previous 4 starts, including 4 runs to Boston in their previous series.

May 5, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox center fielder

Mookie Betts

(50) rounds first base after hitting his second home run of the game during the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Red Sox Key Players To Watch:

Mookie Betts continues to create ‘MookieMania‘ with Red Sox Nation, hitting in big-game situations and playing incredible defense in center field. Recently, he has 3 home runs and 5 RBIs, which contributed to a win and a comeback, although the latter fell short of victory. A .250 batting average doesn’t seem like much, but it could be a sign of him turning the corner before the All-Star Game, as he was hitting less than .200 in April. With the way the ball carries in Toronto’s nest, bet on Betts making some diving catches against the Blue Jays.

Third baseman Pablo Sandoval had 6 hits, a home run, and 3 RBIs the last time the Red Sox played the Blue Jays. This success came especially against Sanchez and Hutchison. If the Red Sox have any chance at winning, Kung Fu Panda will have to pull similar martial arts at the plate, as there should be base runners to drive home against this pitching staff.

Designated hitter David Ortiz has been the hottest hitter for the Red Sox, in terms of batting average, in the last seven days. Now, before you get too excited, he hit .261, with 2 doubles and an RBI. MLB.com‘s Alec Shirkey points out that Ortiz “has tallied 54 home runs and 164 RBIs against the Blue Jays over his career, with both marks being his highest against any one team.” He feasts on Blue Jays pitchers, to the dismay of the Toronto faithful. Expect the banquet to still be on the table when Ortiz arrives in the Rogers Centre.

May 3, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Blue Jays second baseman

Devon Travis

(29) celebrates with second baseman

Ryan Goins

(17), right fielder

Ezequiel Carrera

(3), and right fielder

Michael Saunders

(21) after hitting a grand slam during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Blue Jays Key Players To Watch:

Second baseman Devon Travis has had a brilliant beginning to his 2015 campaign, especially for a player who was just trying to make the team in Spring Training. Now, he is one of the most important pieces to Toronto’s team puzzle. The Blue Jays’ brass have been looking for an every-day starter at second base for a number of seasons. Finally, they have their man. In his last 10 games, Travis banked 2 home runs and 7 RBIs as proof of his reliability. Recently, however, he has had a tough time getting hits, especially during the series against the New York Yankees where he went 2-for-13. Even with the slight dip, Travis is hitting .297 for the season, making him a huge threat to the Red Sox pitching staff.

Catcher Russell Martin is absolutely on fire, since a slow start to his time in his home country. The native of East York, Ontario will have the home crowd buzzing with excitement, as he has hit .522, with 3 doubles, 4 home runs, and 5 RBIs, in the last 7 games. Martin even has a stolen base and crossed the plate 7 times in that time, as well. Martin’s excellent defense and ability to call a game has helped the Blue Jays’ young pitching staff, who have had a rough go of it in the Canadian media. Most games could have been immensely worse if Martin hadn’t coached his teammates in some mound visits. Look for Martin to be one of the major leaders for his team in this series.

Outfielder Kevin Pillar is hitting very well, compared to 2013 and 2014 when he was called up from Triple-A Buffalo to fill spots left by injured veterans. In those previous seasons, Pillar hit .206 and .267, respectively, with a combined 57 strikeouts in 89 games. This season, however, Pillar is hitting .277, .286 at home and .313 in night games. In only 29 games, he has seemed more comfortable with the big club, especially at the plate, cashing in 14 RBIs. He only had 13 RBIs in 36 games in 2013 and 7 RBIs in 53 games in 2014. Pillar has also flashed the leather, making amazing catches in both left field and center field, rivaling highlight-reel moments by Betts in Boston. Pillar is on the rise, which can only help the Blue Jays fly high, too.

First baseman Chris Colabello has come out of nowhere, granted in only two games, to become an impact player. After being called up, to play against the Yankees, Colabello had 6 hits in 8 at-bats, earning 2 doubles and cashing in 2 RBIs. He isn’t a completely new name to Major League Baseball, as he spent two seasons with the Minnesota Twins and their minor league system. Colabello has a total of 116 games in The Show; however, his respective .194 and .229 batting averages would not have necessarily predicted his quick start for the Blue Jays. With Michael Saunders being questionable, after a knee injury, to play today, it is likely that Jose Bautista, the face of the franchise, will likely move back to his normal position in right field, with Edwin Encarnacion moving into the designated hitter spot, leaving first base open to Colabello to show more of what he can do to spark the offense.

May 5, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher

Koji Uehara

(19) celebrates with center fielder Mookie Betts (50) after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Predictions:

Game 1 Winner – Toronto Blue Jays, as Sanchez will be too tough for Miley to match.

Game 2 Winner – Boston Red Sox, as Hutchison will be just bad enough for Kelly. Neither man will get the win.

Game 3 Winner – Boston Red Sox, as neither starter will get past the sixth inning, but the Red Sox offense gets just enough runs for the win.

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