Boston @ Toronto preview
Rogers Centre
Last Meeting ( Apr 27, 2010 ) Boston 2, Toronto 1
The frustration is mounting for the Toronto Blue Jays.
A four-game losing streak will do that to a team, eradicating all the good feelings from a 5-1 start to the season.
The Blue Jays need a win in the worst way in Wednesday night’s finale of a three-game series against Boston – if for no other reason than to soothe their collective psyches after enduring back-to-back, one-run losses to the Red Sox.
Toronto registered season highs in runs and hits in Monday’s opener but came up on the short end of a 13-12 slugfest despite erasing four Boston leads.
One night later, the Blue Jays received a superb pitching performance from Shaun Marcum, only to see the lead – and the game - frittered away when closer Kevin Gregg walked in the winning run on four pitches in the eighth.
Talk about frustration. It was the first walk of the season for Gregg, who entered with two out and the bases loaded in the eighth inning and did not come close to the strike zone against pinch-hitter Mike Lowell.
And it spoiled another strong outing by Marcum, who allowed just one run and four hits but remains winless despite pitching seven innings for the fourth time in five starts this season.
The Blue Jays will look to break their skid on Wednesday and also snap a five-game losing streak to Boston at the Rogers Centre.
Boston starter Jon Lester will be looking to put the brakes on his own woes, coming in at 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA.
On paper, it looks like a good matchup for Toronto, but recent history has not been kind to the Blue Jays when matching up against a struggling Lester early in the season.
A year ago, Lester carried a 6.07 ERA into a May 31 start vs. the Blue Jays. He allowed just one run and three hits while striking out 12 to turn his season around, winning 12 of his last 15 decisions.
That was eerily similar to two years ago, when Lester stumbled through his first six starts, going 1-2 with a bloated 5.40 ERA.
Enter the Blue Jays again. Lester went eight overpowering innings, allowing one hit and striking out six in a 1-0 Red Sox victory.
Three weeks later, he pitched a no-hitter en route to winning 15 of his last 19 decisions to finish the season with a 16-6 record.
Left-hander Brett Cecil gets the start for Toronto. His first start of the season accounted for the Blue Jays’ last win, 6-5, at Tampa Bay on Friday night. He gave up four runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.