Boston will look to avoid a series sweep at home tonight against Toronto. Mark Buehrle is 7-1 with a 2.11 ERA on the season for the Blue Jays. However, his lone loss came at home against Boston; the Red Sox have his number. In that game back on April 25th, the southpaw allowed 7 runs and 12 hits in just 5.1 innings of work. Buehrle has allowed 34 hits in his last four starts against Boston. Jonny Gomes (10-30), Will Middlebrooks (8-18), Mike Napoli (6-21), Daniel Nava (4-12), David Ortiz (25-76), Dustin Pedroia (14-36) and AJ Pierzynski (9-22) all hit Buehrle hard. Toronto’s bullpen has been over- performing in this series, and they can’t be counted on consistently as they own a 5.19 ERA on the season.
Jon Lester is only 4-5 this season, but he has a 2.67 ERA in nine starts for Boston. Lester has pitched much better at home, and he has allowed just 5 runs in his last three home starts against Toronto. Jose Bautista (11-57), Edwin Encarnacion (8-39), Brett Lawrie (6-28), Adam Lind (3-29), Dioner Navarro (5-22), Colby Rasmus (3-15) and Jose Reyes (1-19) all have had their problems with Lester. Toronto is hitting just .242 versus left-handed pitchers this season. We expect Boston to notch a solid home win in this game on Thursday afternoon.
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