The Boston Red Sox (41-42) are on the road to face the Toronto Blue Jays (45-38) at Rogers Centre on Saturday. The Red Sox took Friday’s series opener 5-0, their fifth straight head-to-head victory, including all five games this season.
Starter James Paxton threw 7.2 scoreless innings for the win. Masataka Yoshida was 3 for 4 with a solo home run in the win. Santiago Espinal went 1 for 2 for the Blue Jays.
ON THE MOUND
Kutter Crawford (2-4, 4.01 ERA) is in line for the start for Boston. The RHP allowed four runs over six innings in his last start, a 4-1 home defeat against the White Sox on Sunday.
He was charged with the loss, yielding five hits while striking out four and walking one. Crawford has made one previous appearance against the Blue Jays this season, an 8-3 home victory on May 3. He allowed one hit over 1.1 scoreless innings, walking one.
For Toronto, LHP Yusei Kikuchi (7-2, 3.75 ERA) will toe the rubber. He has made one prior start against the Red Sox this season, giving up five runs over 4.1 innings in a 7-6 road defeat on May 2.
He gave up nine hits while striking out two in the no-decision. In his last start on Sunday, Kikuchi got the win at home against the Athletics. He threw seven innings and gave up one run on two hits, striking out eight and walking two in the 12-1 victory.
AT THE PLATE
Over the last five games, Boston has averaged only 1.8 runs a game, down from their season average of 4.8, while slashing worse across the board (.212/.249/.327). Against southpaws like Kikuchi this season, the Sox have a .746 OPS.
Justin Turner is the team’s best hitter against left-handers with a .909 OPS in 85 at-bats. Toronto is averaging only 4.0 runs per game in the last five, down slightly from 4.4 for the season.
The Jays have a .753 OPS against right-handers in 2023. With a .822 OPS over 157 at-bats, Brandon Belt has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Boston is 20-21 in away games in 2023, scoring 4.1 runs per game while allowing 4.2 runs. Toronto has gone 23-16 at Rogers Centre this season, averaging 4.2 runs per game while surrendering 3.6. Toronto is 7-3 in the last 10 games at Rogers Centre between the AL East rivals with an average scoreline of 5.1-3.3.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Red Sox are fifth in the AL East, 15 games behind the division-leading Rays. The Blue Jays are fourth in the AL East, 11 games behind the Rays.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Toronto Blue Jays (-165)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
