Stroman, Blue Jays to face Porcello, Red Sox on Sunday
Toronto Blue Jays (28-49, fourth in the AL East) vs. Boston Red Sox (42-36, third in the AL East)
Boston; Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Blue Jays: Marcus Stroman (4-9, 3.23 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 71 strikeouts) Red Sox: Rick Porcello (5-6, 4.31 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 74 strikeouts)
LINE: Red Sox favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE:
The Red Sox are 17-15 against teams from the AL East. The Boston offense has compiled a .264 batting average as a team this season, good for sixth in the American League. Rafael Devers leads the team with a mark of .309.
The Blue Jays are 9-14 against the rest of their division. Toronto ranks last in the American League in hitting with a .225 batting average. Eric Sogard leads the team with an average of .308. The Blue Jays won the last meeting 8-7. Nick Kingham earned his third victory and Freddy Galvis went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs for Toronto. Matt Barnes took his second loss for Boston.
TOP PERFORMERS: Xander Bogaerts leads the Red Sox with 40 extra base hits and is batting .298. Jackie Bradley Jr. is 12-for-40 with four doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Boston.
Rowdy Tellez leads the Blue Jays with 35 RBIs and is batting .219. Cavan Biggio is 10-for-33 with two doubles, four home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Toronto.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 8-2, .302 batting average, 3.17 ERA, outscored opponents by 27 runs
Blue Jays: 4-6, .260 batting average, 6.52 ERA, outscored by eight runs
Red Sox Injuries: Hector Velazquez: 10-day IL (back), Tyler Thornburg: 10-day IL (hip), Heath Hembree: 10-day IL (elbow), Nathan Eovaldi: 10-day IL (elbow), Dustin Pedroia: 60-day IL (knee), Steve Pearce: 10-day IL (back), Mitch Moreland: 10-day IL (quad), Tzu-Wei Lin: 10-day IL (knee).
Blue Jays Injuries: Jacob Waguespack: 10-day IL (shoulder), Ryan Tepera: 60-day IL (elbow), Matt Shoemaker: 60-day IL (knee), Elvis Luciano: 60-day IL (elbow), Edwin Jackson: 10-day IL (back), Clay Buchholz: 60-day IL (shoulder), Ryan Borucki: 60-day IL (elbow), Dalton Pompey: 60-day IL (concussion), Devon Travis: 60-day IL (knee), Justin Smoak: 10-day IL (hamstring).
