The Boston Red Sox will head north of the border to take on the Toronto Blue Jays for a three-game series this weekend. The Red Sox are coming off being swept by the Miami Marlins and were outscored 18-3 as the offense failed to appear. The Blue Jays are coming off a series win over the San Fransisco Giants, winning two out of three, and the Blue Jays are riding a two-game winning streak. These two teams met up at the beginning of May, and the Red Sox swept them in four games outscoring Toronto 32-19; things have been very different for the Red Sox since the last series.
Boston Red Sox (40-42) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (45-37)
Game 1:
Date: Friday, June 30
Time: 7:07 PM
Broadcast: NESN
Game 2:
Date: Saturday, July 1
Time: 3:07 PM
Broadcast: NESN
Game 3:
Date: Sunday, June 2
Time: 1:37 PM
Broadcast: NESN
Projected Starting Pitchers:
Game 1: James Paxton (3-1, 3.19 ERA) vs. Jose Berrios (8-5, 3.60 ERA)
James Paxton will get the series started for the Red Sox, and he is making his ninth start of the season; he comes into this one posting a 1.02 WHIP, a 3.42 FIP, a 2.3 BB/9, and an 11.5 K/9. In his last start, he took on the Chicago White Sox and only lasted four innings as he left with an injury; he gave up just one run on two hits; he didn’t walk anyone and struck out three as the Red Sox lost to the White Sox. Paxton has made ten starts in his career against Toronto and is 5-3, pitching 55.2 innings and giving up 28 earned runs with 49 strikeouts; Paxton also no-hit the Blue Jays on May 8, 2018, in Toronto. Jose Berrios will oppose Paxton and is making his 17th start of the season; he faced the Red Sox earlier this season and ended up with a no-decision going 5.1 innings and giving up five runs on 11 hits.
Game 2: Kutter Crawford (2-4, 4.01 ERA) vs. Yusei Kikuchi (7-2, 3.75 ERA)
Kutter Crawford gets the middle game and is making his 16th appearance and eighth start of the season. Crawford comes into this with a 3.99 FIP, a 1.12 WHIP, a 1.7 BB/9, and an 8.7 K/9. His last start came against the White Sox last week, in which he went six innings giving up four runs on five hits; he walked one and struck out four. Crawford pitched against Toronto earlier in the season in a relief role and went 1.1 innings; in his career, he has made two starts against the Blue Jays, going 10.2 innings, giving up seven earned runs, and striking out nine. Crawford will face Yusei Kikuchi for Toronto, who is making his 17th start of the year. Kikuchi started against the Red Sox back on May 2 and went 4.1 innings giving up five runs on nine hits; he did not factor in the decision of that game.
Game 3: Garrett Whitlock (4-3, 5.15 ERA) vs. Kevin Gausman (7-4, 3.01 ERA)
Garrett Whitlock is making his tenth start of the year and is posting a 4.30 FIP, a 1.32 WHIP, a 1.2 BB/9, and an 8.2 K/9. Whitlock is coming off one of his worst starts of the season against the Marlins, in which he went 4.2 innings, giving up six runs on 11 hits; he didn’t issue a walk and struck out seven. In his career, Whitlock has made nine appearances against Toronto, and only one of those was a start; he has pitched 14.2 innings, giving up one run, and struck out 14; he posts a 2-1 career record against the Blue Jays. Whitlock will be opposed by Kevin Gausman, who is making his 18th start of the season, and he faced the Red Sox in their last series as well, going 3.1 innings, giving up eight runs on ten hits; he walked one and struck out four as he took the loss.
Boston Red Sox Player to Watch
Jarren Duran (.292/3/27)
Jarren Duran in his last five games, going 5-17, but the last time he played the Blue Jays, he struck them, going 6-12 in four games with three runs scored, one home run, and three RBI. Duran posts a slash line of .292/.347/.441 with an OPS of .787. If Duran can get on base with his speed, he should be able to help the Red Sox offense generate some runs.
Series Prediction:
The Red Sox took it to the Blue Jays the last time these two teams played, but as of late, the Red Sox offense has been terrible, and they’ve lost five of their previous six. They scored 11 runs in that stretch while their opponent put up 28. The Blue Jays, in their previous six, are 4-2, scoring 31, and their opponents have scored 14. I’d like to think this Red Sox team can take two out of three against the Blue Jays, but the way things are going, I’m going to say they win one game
