Toronto @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 27, 2024 ) Toronto 3, Boston 6
A night after both teams saw streaks end, the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays will continue what amounts to a five-game series on Wednesday night.
The Red Sox had been on a four-game skid before Tuesday's solid 6-3 win, which featured a Jarren Duran leadoff home run and outstanding team defense as evidenced by three outfield assists and two double plays.
Duran is doing his best to keep the Red Sox in the playoff hunt, hitting three home runs in the three games so far this week. The first was the completion Monday of a Boston-Toronto suspended game from June 26.
"Like I've been saying all along, he's one of the best players in the big leagues, man," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "Every night, you're in awe of some of the things he's doing. ... He set the tempo (with the home run) right away ... and from there, we just kept going."
The Red Sox entered Tuesday's game closer to the bottom of the American League East than the final wild-card spot, but it's all about seizing the momentum now.
"Every game counts now," pitcher Kenley Jansen said. "If we want to do it, we have to do it now ... (and take) one inning at a time, one pitch at a time."
Taking the mound on Wednesday for the Red Sox will be right-hander Brayan Bello (11-6, 4.95 ERA), who has three more wins than any Red Sox pitcher this season. Only one victory, however, has come over his last seven starts -- 5-1 on Aug. 17 in Baltimore.
Bello had not allowed more than three runs in any start during the recent span prior to his last outing, a 12-2 loss to Arizona on Friday. The Diamondbacks tagged him for five runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Bello is 2-4 with a 6.96 ERA in seven career starts against Toronto. He picked up a win and a loss vs. the Blue Jays in June.
Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers, who has dealt with shoulder pain, could have his second straight day off on Wednesday.
"If he needs two or three, we'll do it," Cora said. "We have to take care of him."
The Red Sox also await the first appearance of 44-year-old lefty Rich Hill, who recently returned to the organization for a fourth stint and was recalled from Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday.
After having a five-game winning streak snapped Tuesday, Toronto hopes right-hander Chris Bassitt (9-12, 4.41 ERA) can regain the form of his Aug. 6 start against Baltimore. He pitched seven innings of two-run ball with nine strikeouts in the Jays' 5-2 victory.
Bassitt has struggled mightily in his last three starts, losing two before a Friday no-decision against the Los Angeles Angels with four runs allowed in a six-inning outing. The Blue Jays won 5-4.
Since his last victory, Bassitt has allowed 14 runs while striking out 16 across a combined 15 innings. He is 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA in five career starts against Boston, having worked at least six frames in all of them.
Rookie second baseman Will Wagner was 3-for-4 with two doubles and his first career home run on Tuesday, which was just his 13th career game.
"He's been just so impressive with his (consistency) in everything," Toronto manager John Schneider said recently.
Daulton Varsho also homered, giving him a 10-game hitting streak and a .309 average in August.
Other opportunities to score were there for Toronto, but Boston's defense came through at key times.
"When you're putting pressure on the other team to make really good plays, we're good with that," Schneider said. "(Tuesday), they made really good plays."
--Field Level Media