The Boston Red Sox will try to make it three wins in a row Saturday night when they host the Toronto Blue Jays. Of course, both AL East teams find themselves in need of a win at this point in the season.
The Blue Jays are currently last in the division at 4-7. They didn’t get to play their scheduled series with the Phillies last weekend and have lost three of four games since returning to action. Toronto’s young core began the season with a lot of promise but has failed to deliver.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox hope they are about to turn things around after a sluggish start. Boston’s rotation began the year with several holes, although things have improved over the last few days. Of course, with a brutal schedule lined up for the next couple of weeks, the Red Sox must keep it going against the struggling Blue Jays.
Running Out of Chances
Zack Godley will get the start for Boston on Saturday. Godley was released during summer camp by the Tigers but picked up by the pitching-starved Red Sox.
However, he gave up five runs on six hits over 3.1 innings in his last start against the Yankees. Even for a team without many options in their rotation, the Red Sox may not be so patient with Godley if he doesn’t show some improvement.
It will be mostly uncharted territory for Godley, who is yet to face most of Toronto’s young hitters. The silver lining is that the Blue Jays, as a team, have gotten off to a sluggish start offensively.
Teoscar Hernandez has been the star, but nobody else in the Toronto lineup has made a significant impact this year. Even the team’s contingent of veterans like Randal Grichuk, Brandon Drury, and Joe Panik have struggled to get going offensively.
First Crack
Chase Anderson is set to make his season debut for the Blue Jays on Saturday. The veteran was held back by an oblique strain during summer camp and is finally ready to take the mound.
He was considered an essential part of the Toronto rotation after posting a solid 4.21 ERA with the Brewers last season. With the Blue Jays struggling to score runs, there’s a lot of pressure on Anderson to deliver a quality start.
Of course, Anderson has had limited experience facing Boston’s hitters outside of Jose Peraza, who is 6 for 18 (.333) with three extra-base hits in his career against Anderson. Fortunately for Anderson, the Red Sox aren’t getting much from players they were relying on before the season.
Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi are both hitting below .200 while J.D. Martinez has underperformed. Thus far, Xander Bogaerts and surprising production from Christian Vazquez have carried Boston’s lineup.
Beantown Battle
This game is more or less a tossup with both starting pitchers being a wild card. Keep in mind that the Red Sox used six different relievers on Friday, so their bullpen may not be quite as fresh for Godley, who isn’t fully stretched out.
The Blue Jays also out-hit the Red Sox on Friday despite scoring fewer runs. The pendulum is likely to swing back in Toronto’s position, so bet on the Blue Jays to win on Saturday.
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