Red Sox vs. Blue Jays Preview: Rematch

The Red Sox avoided a sweep against the Yankees Thursday night, but most focus on the task at hand.

The Boston Red Sox (26-11) escaped New York with a win Thursday night against the Yankees after another epic bullpen implosion, thanks to J.D. Martinez‘s heroics.

Avoiding a sweep to the hottest team in baseball was a small victory for the Red Sox, but the Blue Jays (20-18) are no slouch. The Red Sox head to Toronto for a three-game series this weekend. The Red Sox took two out of three during their last visit to the Rogers Centre.

If the season were to end today, Mookie Betts would be the overwhelming favorite for AL MVP. Betts leads the majors on home runs, OPS and is second in batting average. Despite Betts’ success — the rest of the Red Sox offense has been average. After the offense’s hot start to the season, things have cooled off for many in the lineup not named J.D. Martinez.

Xander Bogaerts hasn’t played at the same level since his injury against the Rays.

Hanley Ramirez finally broke an 80 at-bat homerless slump by bashing two in New York.

We’re still waiting for Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi to lift off, though both have hit their share of home runs this road trip.

Things are looking up for the offense, but there’s still a couple of gears they need to reach. However, the season remains young and the weather is getting warmer.

The Red Sox are 6-4 in their last 10 games, while the Blue Jays are 4-6.

The Blue Jays are off to a better start than they were at this point last season, and their doing so with major struggles to key members of the team. According to The Star’s Richard Griffin, the Blue Jays duo of Marcus Stroman and Marco Estrada have been awful.

That Jays starting duo combined to post a 5-4 record and 3.23 ERA in 1001/3 innings (15 starts) after 38 games last season, with 29 walks and 93 strikeouts. This year, the same two pitchers, on a team that has a better overall record, are a combined 2-7 with a 6.45 ERA in 751/3 innings over 14 starts. Not good.

The Red Sox know a thing or two about bad pitching, as their bullpen was brutal throughout the series against the Yankees.

But the Sox starters may be finding their groove.

Chris Sale pitched seven innings for a second consecutive start — something he struggled to do earlier in the season — and only allowed an earned run in each start. It was also encouraging to see Sale fan 12 batters in Texas, even though it was against an inferior Rangers team.

Drew Pomeranz allowed two solo bombs to Giancarlo Stanton, but those runs were the only allowed by Pomeranz through six innings.

Eduardo Rodriguez threw five shutout innings, only allowing one hit and striking out eight. This was a significant step forward in Rodriguez’s progress this season.

Can the Red Sox starters continue the upward trend against Toronto? They certainly hope so, as the bullpen is completely taxed after three games in New York.

Pitching Matchups

Friday, May 11 at 7:07 PM Chris Sale (3-1, 2.02 ERA) vs. Aaron Sanchez (2-3, 4.14 ERA)

Saturday, May 12 at 4:07 PM David Price (2-4, 5.11 ERA) vs. Marco Estrada (2-2, 5.21 ERA)

Sunday, May 13 at 1:07 PM Drew Pomeranz (1-1, 5.23 ERA) vs. Marcus Stroman (0-5, 7.71 ERA)

Series Notes

• Sale has dominated at Rogers Centre, going 5-1 with a 1.44 ERA in seven starts.
• Sanchez has allowed at least four runs in each of his past two starts and could not make it out of the fourth inning in his last outing.
• Price didn’t give up a run in his first two starts, but has an 8.22 ERA in his last five outings.
• The Red Sox were 8-1 at the Rogers Centre last season, and are 2-1 this season.
• Estrada allowed five runs over five innings in a start against Boston earlier this season.
• Pomeranz is 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA in three career starts at Rogers Centre.
• Stroman has allowed at least four runs in all but one of his starts this season, and has been able to complete six innings just once.

Three Keys To Victory

• Starters: The Red Sox starters must go deep into games this series. The Sox bullpen made appearances in every game against the Yankees and don’t have a day off until May 21. It’s important to preserve the bullpen over this tough stretch of games. It’s equally as important to get Price back on track, who has had a nightmarish couple of weeks.
• Sale: Chris Sale must have a good outing if the Red Sox want to win the first game of the series. The shaky Red Sox bullpen will likely be without the two must trusted relievers in Joe Kelly, who pitched 1 2/3 innings last night, and Craig Kimbrel, who pitched back to back nights.
• Lefty presence in lineup: As mentioned, Devers and Benintendi are still waiting to blossom this season, but both have shown flashes of breaking the slumps. Can Toronto be the place where they do so? The Red Sox need their young lefties to get going offensively, as Mitch Moreland has been the only consistency at the plate for Boston this season.

Next: Red Sox roster will look different by August, September

Check back with BoSox Injection prior to the start of every Red Sox series this season for our preview!

Check back with BoSox Injection prior to the start of every Red Sox series this season for our preview!