Boston @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 5, 2016 ) Toronto 5, Boston 4

Rick Porcello attempts to become the major league’s first 20-game winner when his Boston Red Sox visit the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday for the opener of a critical three-game set. Porcello is a dazzling 8-1 since the All-Star break and has won five contests in a row for the first-place Red Sox, who lead Toronto by one game in the American League East.

Boston finished the West Coast portion of its road trip 4-2 and Hanley Ramirez looks to remain hot for the Red Sox after going 14-for-37 with four homers, 12 RBIs and nine runs scored over the last nine games. The Blue Jays come home reeling after getting swept in three games against the New York Yankees and losing five of six overall. Toronto was shut out 2-0 on Wednesday after its pitching staff gave up 30 runs in the previous five contests. Reigning AL MVP Josh Donaldson has struggled over the last four games for the Blue Jays, going 0-for-12 with five strikeouts, but is a .319 hitter with four homers and 11 RBIs against Boston this season.

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), Sportsnet (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Rick Porcello (19-3, 3.23 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Marco Estrada (8-7, 3.56)

Porcello is unbeaten in his last six starts with a 2.47 ERA after allowing two runs and four hits over seven innings to beat Oakland on Sept. 3. The 27-year-old, whose previous high was 15 wins with Detroit in 2014, is 6-3 with a 3.42 ERA in 14 road starts. Jose Bautista (14-for-34, three homers) and Edwin Encarnacion (13-for-34, three homers) have punished Porcello, who is 2-0 with a 5.21 ERA in three starts against Toronto this year.

Estrada has struggled in his last five games, giving up seven homers and 10 walks, with a 1-3 record and 19 runs allowed over 26 innings. The 33-year-old Mexico native is 3-5 with a 3.30 ERA at home and has won two of three starts against the Red Sox this season. Jackie Bradley Jr. is 3-for-9 with a homer and David Ortiz has two blasts versus Estrada, who is 4-3 with a 3.73 ERA in eight appearances (six starts) against the Red Sox.

WALK-OFFS

1. Toronto 2B Devon Travis is 8-for-21 with four RBIs during a five-game hitting streak.

2. Ortiz boasts 534 career home runs, tied for 18th in major league history – two behind Mickey Mantle for 17th.

3. Blue Jays C-DH Dioner Navarro, whose next game will be the 1,000th of his career, is 3-for-14 since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox.

PREDICTION: Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 3