Toronto aims to bounce back against Boston
While the Blue Jays are sliding at the worst possible time, their biggest threat in the American League East continues to round into peak form.
Boston aims to capture its second straight contest against Toronto this afternoon, with a 1:07 p.m. ET first pitch at Rogers Centre. Handicappers at online sports book Bovada.lv aren’t so sure about that coming to fruition, though, listing the host club as a 1.5-run favorite. John Farrell’s troops represent +120 underdogs.
The Red Sox opened a two-game lead over John Gibbons’ bunch thanks to last night’s 13-3 rout. Not only did the Blue Jays muster very little offense against Rick Porcello, they committed two errors and botched several other plays in the field. The performance epitomized a week-long stretch of ugly results.
J.A. Happ, however, has the power to get things moving back in the right direction shortly. Even though his most recent victory occurred on Aug. 17, the lefty still ranks second in the AL with 17 wins. He’s 4-3 with a 3.81 ERA in 11 career outings against Boston.
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Farrell counters with Eduardo Rodriguez, who’s enjoying a banner second half. In nine assignments since the All-Star break, the 23-year-old boasts a 2.73 ERA. Rodriguez has surrendered three or fewer earned runs in eight of those turns.
But there’s a major problem: The Red Sox simply do not offer him any semblance of run support. That fact, coupled with Toronto’s ability to blister southpaws, makes us lean toward those who call the Great White North home.
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