Series Preview: Blue Jays at Red Sox (4/23-4/24)
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by user Tylersalt
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A quick two-game series starts on Monday between the red-hot Boston Red Sox (11-5, 1st in AL East) and the hurting Toronto Blue Jays (8-9, 4th in AL East) at Fenway Park in Boston. The Red Sox took two of three from the Blue Jays this past week, and the boys from up north try to get their April back on track against one of the best pitching teams in the American League. The pitching matchups mirror the two games from last week that the Red Sox won -- let's take a look:
Game 1
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The normally unpredictable Tim Wakefield has been anything but so far this season, as he's been lights out in his three starts this month. In his last start on Wednesday in Toronto, he went seven one-run innings while giving up only four hits. Tomo Ohka, on the other had, has been predictably bad, giving up two or more home runs in each of his starts this year. He went 6 1/3 innings against Boston, giving up four earned runs on four hits, with a respectable 4:1 K:BB ratio. Ohka will have his work cut out for him trying to turn it around at Fenway Park, where he holds a 3-8 an ERA of 3.95, and a BAA of .282.
Top Performers: Doug Mirabelli, David Ortiz, and J.D. Drew all hit solo home runs off of Ohka last week... Third baseman John McDonald knocked in the only run against Wakefield in that game.
Game 2
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Julian Tavarez will once again (mis)match up with Toronto ace Roy Halladay in the final game of the series. Doc Halladay certainly out-pitched Tavarez on Thursday, going 7 1/3, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, but the Red Sox would come back against the Jays' bullpen to win the game, scoring 4 runs in the final two innings. Tavarez has yet to win a game as he holds down the fort for Jon Lester, but he has done the job serviceably. He has a 3.72 career ERA against the Blue Jays in 20 appearances over the course of his 14-year career, including four starts.
Top Performers: Toronto left fielder Alex Rios had a great game against Tavarez last week, going 2-3 with a double and a solo home run... Coco Crisp was the only Boston regular to have more than one hit against Halladay, and backup first baseman Eric Hinske drove in the only run on a sacrifice fly.
