The Red Sox (64-53) open a four-game series at Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays (56-63) tonight looking to get back on track after losing two in a row over the weekend to the Athletics. The Jays return home after taking two of three in Philadelphia against the Philles.
Despite dropping their last two games, the Red Sox have still won 27 of their last 32 contests and remain firmly in the American League postseason hunt. Toronto sits 3.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot.
Boston's weekend series against the Athletics was an unusual stumble for one of baseball's hottest teams. After routing Oakland 13-1 on Friday, the Red Sox dropped the final two games of the series, losing 7-3 on Saturday before falling 4-3 yesterday. The Saturday defeat snapped a nine-game winning streak, and Sunday's loss marked the first time since July 1 that Boston had lost back-to-back games. Toronto spent the weekend in Philadelphia and nearly came away with a sweep. The Blue Jays won Friday's opener 5-4 and followed with an 11-inning, 7-5 victory on Saturday. Yesterday, however, Toronto fell 7-6 in 12 innings.
Tonight, the Red Sox will hand the ball to veteran right-hander Sonny Gray (14-2, 2.78 ERA). Few are talking about his season, but Gray has been outstanding for the Sox. His most recent outing came on August 5 against the White Sox, when he tossed six scoreless innings, allowed just three hits, walked two, and struck out eight in a 4-0 Boston victory. Prior to that, he beat the Athletics despite allowing four runs over seven innings. Gray has faced Toronto twice this season and owns an 0-1 record with a 6.00 ERA against the Blue Jays.
Toronto counters with Jameson Taillon (2-6, 5.96 ERA), who is making just his second start since being acquired from the Cubs. In his Blue Jays debut on August 5 against Houston, Taillon allowed three runs on six hits over four innings, walking two and striking out four. He threw 80 pitches and was fortunate to escape with a no-decision as Toronto rallied for a 5-4 extra-inning win. Despite his struggles this season, Taillon has historically pitched well against Boston, posting a career 3-1 record and 2.59 ERA in eight starts against the Red Sox.
Lets dive further into tonight's game and find a sweat or two.
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Moneyline: Boston Red Sox (-164), Toronto Blue Jays (+153)
Red Sox: Sonny GraySeason Totals: 119.2 IP, 14-2, 2.78 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 106K, 32 BB
Blue Jays: Jameson TaillonSeason Totals: 80.0 IP, 2-6, 5.96 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 72K, 29 BB
Ernie Clement has hit safely in 4 of his last 5 games (6-24)
Caleb Durbin is just 2-9 in his career against Jameson Taillon but 1 of the 2 hits is a HR
Andres Gimenez is riding a 4-game hitting streak (7-17)