Boston is riding a 14-game winning streak into the weekend, and the fading Blue Jays are the ones stuck in the way.
Bush’s Picks
TORBOS
TORBOS
OverUnder
Best BetRed Sox
Boston's 14-game winning streak is the story in baseball right now, and until somebody actually snaps it, backing the Red Sox is the obvious lean. Toronto has dropped 4 of its last 5 and Guerrero is having the worst offensive season of his career, which doesn't scream upset. The only real question is how much you're paying for a team this hot, not whether it's the right side.
Blue Jays
+Still within range of a wild-card spot
+Split a low-scoring set, including a 1-0 win
−Dropped 4 of last 5, including 1-7 loss
−Guerrero Jr. having a career-worst season
−Rotation gutted: Scherzer, Berrios, Francis, Ponce all out
Red Sox
+Winners of 14 straight, longest in 78 years
+Turned around from 10-17 start under Tracy
+Suarez activated back to bolster rotation
−Missing Story, Kiner-Falefa and Mayer in the infield
−Rotation still down Crochet, Houck, Oviedo, Early, Crawford
−Casas also out, lineup shorthanded at first
First pitch at Fenway is set for 7:15 PM ET on Friday, July 24, and neither club has locked in a starter for the series opener yet. That's not unusual for a weekday turnaround, but it also means this game is really about what's surrounding the rotations — a Red Sox staff that just got a real arm back, and a Blue Jays operation that's been scrambling to fill holes in its rotation for two months.
Boston caught a break when Ranger Suarez came off the 15-day injured list, giving interim manager Chad Tracy a proven front-line option right as the calendar gets more serious. Toronto, meanwhile, is still without Max Scherzer, Jose Berrios, Bowden Francis and Cody Ponce — four rotation arms gone for a team that's had trouble getting length out of the ones still standing.
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7:15 PM ET
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TOR Blue Jays
BOS Red Sox
Zoom out and this series is really about two seasons that flipped upside down. Boston fired Alex Cora in April after a 10-17 start, and the club has been unrecognizable since — 40-31 and counting under Tracy, with the current run pushing Boston's win streak to 14 games, its longest in 78 years. Toronto came into the year as the defending AL champs and has instead spent the summer digging out of last place in the East.
Toronto Blue Jays
Jul 23?vs Rays—
Jul 22?vs Rays—
Jul 21?vs Rays—
Boston Red Sox
Jul 22?vs Orioles—
Jul 21?vs Orioles—
Recent form.
The form gap is stark, but Toronto isn't dead yet — the Jays were still within shouting distance of a wild-card spot heading into the break, and last week's set with the White Sox included a 1-0 win that showed some fight even during a losing stretch. The bigger issue is the middle of the lineup: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been stuck in a career-worst season at the plate, and a Toronto offense that ranks near the bottom of baseball in runs and walks doesn't have much margin for error against a team playing this well.
Toronto Blue Jays
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Boston Red Sox
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Boston's injury sheet is just as crowded, with Trevor Story, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Marcelo Mayer all out of the infield mix and the rotation still missing Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford. None of it has mattered yet — this team has found a way to win with whoever's available, and until somebody actually beats them, that's the safer bet to keep believing in.
