Fresh off the all-star break, the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox get right into the heat of the wild-card race this weekend at Fenway Park.
Toronto (50-43) is holding down the third and final wild-card spot in the American League, two games ahead of the slumping Red Sox (48-45).
The Blue Jays are one game back of the Seattle Mariners and 1.5 behind the Tampa Bay Rays in what is a tight wild-card battle.
Here’s a look at this weekend’s AL East battle in Boston.
Probable Pitchers
Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET / 4:10 p.m. PT: Toronto RHP Kevin Gausman (6-7, 2.87 ERA) vs. Boston RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 3.34 ERA)
Saturday, 4:10 p.m. ET / 1:10 p.m. PT: Toronto RHP Alek Manoah (10-4, 2.28 ERA) vs. Boston RHP Kutter Crawford (2-2, 4.50 ERA)
Sunday, 1:10 p.m. ET / 10:10 a.m. PT: Toronto RHP Ross Stripling (5-3, 3.03 ERA) vs. Boston TBD
(All games on Sportsnet)
Latest on the Blue Jays
After firing manager Charlie Montoyo last Wednesday, the Blue Jays went 4-1 under interim manager John Schneider on a homestand before hitting the all-star break.
While it certainly was a promising start, it’s worth noting that four of those games were against the lowly and short-handed Kansas City Royals, who were missing 10 players due to vaccination rules at the border.
Despite their trimmed roster, the Royals didn’t make it easy for the Blue Jays. The visitors won the opener, fell in extra innings in the third game and played tight in the finale before Alejandro Kirk’s late home run gave the Blue Jays some breathing room.
The good news for the Blue Jays is their starting rotation has been much better lately with all four of their top starters coming off solid outings.
Latest on the Red Sox
The Red Sox have been as streaky a team as you’ll find in baseball this year.
After a June in which it felt like they never lost (they went 20-6), the Red Sox are 5-12 in July, falling out of a playoff spot.
Boston won just four of its 14 games before the all-star break, all of them coming against the AL East’s top teams in the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay.
The final week before the break was a disaster with Tampa sweeping a four-game series before the Yankees took two out of three from the Red Sox, winning 14-1 and 13-2 in the final two games.
The final game was particularly painful with left-handed starter Chris Sale breaking his left pinkie finger when he took a hard shot off the bat of Aaron Hicks. He underwent surgery this week and the team can only hope Sale isn’t done for the season.
Boston’s play in the next few series will play a big role in determining whether the Red Sox are buyers or sellers at the Aug. 2 trade deadline.
Season Series
The Blue Jays are 7-3 against the Red Sox this year, including winning two of three in late June against a then-red-hot Boston team at Rogers Centre.
The final two games of that series were thrillers. Vladimir Guerrero Jr provided the walk-off single in a 6-5 win in the second game when the Red Sox didn’t have closer Tanner Houck (restricted list) before Boston won by an identical score in 10 innings the next night.
Gausman Owns Sox
Gausman, who gets the ball for the opener, has been sharp against Boston this season.
The right-hander has gone at least six innings in each of his three starts and given up only one run versus the Red Sox.
The Heat is on
Staying hydrated will be a priority in Boston this weekend.
Sunny skies with highs in the mid-30s are in the forecast all three days.
Up Next
After an off-day on Monday, the Blue Jays start a six-game homestand with a mini-series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.
The Detroit Tigers then hit Rogers Centre for four games.
