Boston @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 11, 2010 ) Boston 3, Toronto 2

After the Toronto Blue Jays enjoyed one of the wildest weekends in team history, Monday's off-day couldn't have come at a better time.

The Boston Red Sox wish they had the same luxury.

The Blue Jays welcome the busy Red Sox to the Rogers Centre on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series between American League East rivals.

Boston has dominated the season series to date, winning seven of the first nine head-to-head meetings. If the Blue Jays continue their recent hot play, those numbers will be a little more even.

Toronto has won five of its last six games, and there wasn't a dull one in the bunch. The Blue Jays stormed into Yankee Stadium and took two out of three from the division leaders, then earned a home sweep of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in one of the most entertaining series Toronto has played in some time.

Saturday saw rookie catcher J.P. Arencibia explode onto the major-league scene, belting a pair of homers as part of a four-hit debut as Toronto outgunned the Rays 17-11. Less than 24 hours later, right-hander Brandon Morrow struck out a career-best 17 hitters and came within an out of tossing the second no-hitter in franchise history, settling for a 1-0 victory instead.

The reward for their efforts: A second day off in less than a week.

While Toronto rested, the Red Sox inched closer to the Yankees and Rays in the division race Monday afternoon by beating the Bronx Bombers 2-1. Jon Lester outduelled Phil Hughes for his 12th win of the season while J.D. Drew and Bill Hall had RBIs in the decisive two-run second inning.

Red Sox speedster Jacoby Ellsbury added four stolen bases in the victory, which moved Boston to within 1 1/2 games of the Yankees for top spot in the East and 4 1/2 games of Tampa in the wild-card race.

Tuesday's game is the 11th straight for the Red Sox, and the fourth game of a grueling 10-game road trip that brings them through New York and Toronto before concluding at Rangers Stadium in Texas. Boston will have played 16 straight days by the time the trip ends.

The Red Sox send red-hot righty Daisuke Matsuzaka (8-3) to the mound in Tuesday's curtain-raiser. The Japanese hurler has won his last three decisions and was particularly dominant in his last outing, allowing just one run over eight innings in a 6-2 triumph over Cleveland.

Matsuzaka is 6-1 lifetime against Toronto, with a 3.45 ERA over 57 1/3 innings. Two of those victories have come this season, including a 3-2 win at the Rogers Centre on July 11 in which Matsuzaka limited the high-powered Jays offence to a pair of runs over six innings.

Toronto counters with left-hander Ricky Romero (9-7), who is looking for his third consecutive victory. Romero went the distance in his last appearance, surrendering two runs on two hits in an 8-2 rout of the Yankees.

Romero has been shellacked by the Red Sox in his career, owning a 1-4 record with an 8.76 ERA. He'll be looking to avenge his previous outing against Boston, when he was tagged for nine runs in just 2 1/3 innings on the way to a 14-3 loss on July 9.