The Red Sox have an off-day today as they travel to
America Lite to face the Blue Jays in an early-season showdown that actually has meaning. Boston is four games up on Toronto and would seem to have the edge in pitching match-ups for all three contests. On Tuesday, 4-0
Rick Porcello will take on
J.A. Happ; Wednesday will feature
Eduardo Rodriguez against
Aaron Sanchez; and Thursday's tilt will be hard-luck
Chris Sale (1-1, 1.86 ERA) against the struggling
Marco Estrada (5.32 ERA). Both teams have lost their last two contests on the road, and
The Bronx Embalmers lurk dangerously close to Boston at just 5.5 games out. The latest
ESPN Power Rankings place the Jays in fifth position overall—with
The Carmine Hose still sitting atop the list. The always pesky
Kevin Pillar leads Toronto in hitting (.304), with
Yangervis Solarte slotting in as their top HR hitter (5). Most perceive Toronto's strength to be their young starting pitching—but the Jays are fifth in the AL with a 4.04 team ERA so far (the Red Sox are #3 at 2.75).
Buckle up, eh?
