The Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox continue their four-game series at Fenway Park on Wednesday, with both teams having picked up a victory in the first two games of the series. The two teams have played 14 times this season, with Boston winning eight of those, and will only play one more series after this one in September.
Building for the Future
The Blue Jays are 36-60 this season and currently in fourth place in the AL East. They are about to take the Red Sox on for their third straight game after splitting their first two. Toronto is off to a rough start following the All-Star Game, and they will most likely be looking to sell before the trade deadline to add pieces around some of their young stars.
Mets trade Wilmer Font to Blue Jays for cash https://t.co/q2o7BHZPpQ pic.twitter.com/MA616avw5r
— New York Post (@nypost) July 17, 2019
Aaron Sanchez will be getting the start for the Blue Jays in Wednesday’s game. He is currently 3-13 this season after losing nine straight starts. Sanchez has not gotten a win since facing Oakland on April 27. The 27-year-old carries a 6.22 ERA with 79 strikeouts this year. Needless to say, Sanchez will be looking to get out of this long drought and pick up a win against Boston.
Blue Jays shortstop Freddy Galvis is currently leading the team with his .269 batting average and his 46 runs batted in. The team’s home run leader is centerfielder Randal Grichuk with 16. When the Blue Jays begin trading, look for them to find pieces to build around Valdimir Guerrero Jr.
Still Fighting
The Red Sox are 51-44 this season after dropping their last game against the Blue Jays. The Sox are now 22-25 at home and 6-4 over their last 10 games. Boston is in third place in the AL East behind the Yankees and Rays.
Eduardo Rodriguez will be getting the start for the Red Sox after picking up a win in his last outing against the Dodgers where he gave up just one run over seven innings. That win brought Rodriguez to 10-4 this season with a 4.43 ERA with 116 strikeouts. Rodriguez is the team’s current win leader.
The Red Sox have plenty of talent on offense. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts currently leads the team in both home runs and RBI with 20 and 72, respectively. Boston’s batting average leader is Rafael Devers with .326.
The Red Sox will need to get more production out of their offense in this game to keep up with Toronto and take the win. As a team, they are batting .272 with 138 home runs. They are doing good, but not living up to their expectations for this season. Look for Boston to make a push at the trade deadline to bolster their roster to keep them playing in October.
What to expect
Despite losing their last game against the Blue Jays, Boston has the better roster, and in this game, they have the better pitcher on the mound. I expect the Red Sox to win this game.
