The July 29th Blue Jays at Red Sox matchup is the last one before the trade deadline for both teams. 1st place Boston could look very different in their upcoming 3-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays, but are just -120 favorites in Thursday’s contest.
Toronto has dropped two of three in this series and could be in the ultimate getaway day as they prepare for their first true home game of the season on Friday. The Blue Jays are done playing in Buffalo, and will return to the Rogers Centre to host Kansas City over the weekend. Boston has gone 33-21 at Fenway Park this season.
Toronto Not Giving Up
The Blue Jays are still in the fight, sitting just 4.5 GB of the 2nd wild card spot but with the Yankees and Mariners still to jump. Toronto has shown they’re going to at least try to make a run for the postseason, adding bullpen help in the form of reliever Brad Hand on Thursday.
Toronto did manage a split with Boston in a doubleheader on Wednesday, but that was their first win against the Sox in the last six tries. The Blue Jays are also now just 2-5 in their last 7 road games, but still a decent 28-26 in away games this season. Bo Bichette is hitting .400 over his last six games and Vlad Guerrero, Jr. has gone 4-11 this series.
Hyun Jin Ryu (9-5, 3.44 ERA) gets the ball for Toronto in this battle of left-handers. The Southpaw gave up 10 hits in his last outing even though the Blue Jays scored a 10-3 win over the Mets. Ryu is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA vs. Boston this season.
Boston Looking Ahead?
The Red Sox have a 2.5 game lead over Tampa Bay and head to St. Petersburg on Friday for a big 3-game series with the Rays. Does that put Boston in the dreaded ‘look ahead’ spot vs. Toronto? The Red Sox do continue to play well, going 5-2 on their current home stand including taking 3 of 4 from the Yankees.
Boston does hit just .233 as a team vs. Ryu, with Xander Bogaerts having the only HR over 86 combined ABs from the active roster. Rafael Devers has powered the Sox as of late, posting three straight multi-hit games and hitting .409 over his last six games. Devers is also questionable with a quad injury in the July 29th Blue Jays at Red Sox matchup however.
It’s Eduardo Rodriguez (7-5, 5.23 ERA) up in the rotation for Boston, exiting in the 2nd inning of his last start with migraine symptoms. Rodriguez should be fine, looking to build on 2ER or less allowed in 3 of 4 starts prior to the early exit vs. the Yankees. The southpaw gave up 11 hits and 5 ER in his last start vs. Toronto on May 18th and has allowed 6 HR to the Blue Jays roster in his career.
Free July 29th Blue Jays at Red Sox Pick
Both teams are in an interesting spot looking ahead. The Blue Jays have their first home game of the season on Friday while the Red Sox head to the Trop to try and bury the Rays deeper in the East. Boston at -120 is a red flag, making Toronto the play.
Blue Jays 7 – Red Sox 6
Free Pick: Toronto +100
