Red Sox vs Blue Jays Game Preview

AL East Showdown in Toronto

There might come a time later in the season when a Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays game preview will feature two teams fighting for postseason positioning. Right now, only the host Blue Jays look like a playoff team.

The Red Sox pitching staff has yet to record a quality start and, if not for a rejuvenated Michael Wacha, some of the pitching numbers could be a little frightening, especially without injured starters Chris Sale and James Paxton.

Nathan Eovaldi and Nick Pivetta, who are expected to start in the first two games of the series, are two of the Boston starters who have more hits allowed than innings pitched.

Toronto’s starters aren’t exactly looking like the top rotation in baseball, as the Blue Jays have a worse ERA than Boston’s starters.

Jose Berrios, who will start in Monday’s opener, did pick up a win against the Red Sox last week.

Game Information

Team records: Red Sox 7-9 (fourth in AL East), Blue Jays 10-7 (first in AL East)
Dates: Monday, 7:07 p.m. ET (teams also play on Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. and Wednesday at 1:15 p.m.)
Location: Rogers Centre, Toronto

Red Sox Offense Stuck in Neutral

The Boston Red Sox faithful should be thankful that Xander Bogaerts is swinging a hot bat because many of his teammates aren’t bursting with confidence heading into the Toronto series. When it comes to Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays highlights, Bogaerts is one of the first names that comes to mind.

Looking at the Red Sox vs Blue Jays game preview, three of the five other players with at least 20 at-bats in the last seven games are hitting under .200 during that stretch. Rafael Devers, who came into the season as one of the top American League’s Most Valuable Player candidates, has just four hits in his last seven games, although two were for extra bases.

Bobby Dalbec and Enrique Hernandez are also struggling as Boston ranks near the bottom of the American League in team batting average and on-base percentage. With just two stolen bases, the Red Sox aren’t exactly generating offense with a small-ball approach. Boston has scored two runs or less in five of the last six games. When they did top two runs during the span, it came in a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay.

Toronto Keeping Fans in Seats

When it comes to entertainment value, it is hard to top the Toronto Blue Jays. Six of Toronto’s last seven games, including the last four, have been decided by one run. The Blue Jays are just 3-3 in those contests.

The one thing working in the favor of the Blue Jays is that closer Jordan Romano has been lights-out when it comes to shutting the door. That wasn’t the case on Sunday when Houston rookie Jeremy Pena hit a game-winning two-run homer to give the Astros the 8-7 victory. Romano had converted 31 straight save opportunities dating to last season before taking the loss.

One of the issues for Toronto is that the Blue Jays are hitting just .160 with runners in scoring position. When they have a chance to build up a lead, they have struggled to do so. That could be a key part of the Red Sox vs Blue Jays game preview.

Sunday’s defeat kept Toronto from holding onto sole possession of first place in the AL East. Romano had two saves in seven appearances against Boston during the 2021 season. He also picked up a win against the Red Sox.

Who’s Hot

Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox IF: Bogaerts is 9-for-20 with three doubles in his last five games.
Tyler Danish, Red Sox P: Danish hasn’t allowed a hit or a run in his last two outings. He has five strikeouts and two walks in three innings during that span.
Vlad Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays IF: Guerrero is 5-for-12 with two runs scored and no strikeouts in his last three games.
Trent Thornton, Blue Jays P: Thornton has allowed one hit and no runs in his last three appearances. He has six strikeouts and two walks in six innings over that stretch.

Who’s Not

Bo Bichette, Blue Jays IF: Bichette has struck out six times in his last 11 at-bats. He doesn’t have an extra-base hit in his last nine games.
Bobby Dalbec, Red Sox 1B: Dalbec has one hit in his last 12 at-bats. He struck out three times in four at-bats in his last contest.
Hansel Robles, Red Sox P: Robles allowed three runs and a home run in his last outing.
Ross Stripling, Blue Jays P: Stripling gave up five hits and three runs in four innings in his last outing.

Injury Report

Boston outfielder J.D. Martinez (abductor tightness) is questionable. Infielder Jonathan Arauz and catcher Kevin Plawecki are on the COVID-19 list and it is uncertain when they will return to action. Starting pitchers Sale and Paxton are out for an extended period of time while reliever Josh Taylor could return in early May.

For Toronto, outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and catcher Danny Jansen are on the 10-day injured list and it is uncertain when they will return to the field.

Red Sox vs Blue Jays Probable Starting Pitchers

Monday: Nathan Eovaldi (Red Sox) vs. Jose Berrios (Blue Jays)
Tuesday: Nick Pivetta (Red Sox) vs. Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays)
Wednesday: Michael Wacha (Red Sox) vs. Ross Stripling (Blue Jays)

Red Sox vs Blue Jays Betting Preview

Plenty of eyes will be on Red Sox outfielder J.D. Martinez, who has missed the last four games and is questionable for the series opener. The status of Martinez will be crucial when it comes to Red Sox vs Blue Jays odds.

The Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays game preview is a hard one to figure out. Some of the probable starting pitchers have less-than-stellar numbers right now, but with their previous track records, it is hard to expect them to continue to allow hits and runs at their current pace.

Five of the last six meetings between the teams were decided by one run, including two of the three games in the recent series played at Fenway Park.

Boston has split the last six games it has played in Toronto.

The total has gone under in Boston’s last six games and in seven of the last eight games on the road. Six of Toronto’s seven games have also gone over the total. What that usually means is an 11-9 game is due to happen between these division rivals.