Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays 6/21/19: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds
Contents
TV & Radio Section
Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 6/21/19 7:10 PM ET Fenway Park, Boston, MA, TV: Boston (NESN), Toronto (SNET-1) Radio: Boston (WCCM 1490 AM/103.7 FM), Toronto (SN590)
Matchup Preview
The Red Sox and Blue Jays open a 3 game series tonight at Fenway Park. The Red Sox are currently 7.0 games out of first, and the Blue Jays a staggering 20.5. Ace Chris Sale takes the mound for the Red Sox as Trent Thornton gets the nod for the Blue Jays.
Sale is currently 3-7 on the year with an ERA of 3.49 and 130 Ks. His last start resulted in a win against the Orioles on June 15th. He went 6 innings giving up 6 hits and 2 runs. If he’s able to get a win tonight, it would mark his first win at Fenway on the year, as surprising as that sounds. He’s 0-2 at Fenway this year with an ERA of 3.57.
The rookie right-hander Trent Thornton is 2-5 on the season. This will be his first start against the division rival Red Sox, but his last start was promising. It came against Houston where he threw 6.2 innings of shutout ball, giving up just 6 hits to a stacked Astros lineup. He’s 2-2 on the road this year with an ERA of 2.98.
Boston Red Sox Starting Lineup
1. Mookie Betts (R) RF
2. Andrew Benintendi (L) LF
3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH
4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
5. Rafael Devers (L) 3B
6. Steve Pearce (R) 1B
7. Eduardo Nunez (R) 2B
8. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) CF
9. Sandy Leon (S) C
SP. Chris Sale (L), 3-7
Red Sox Analysis
7-3 in their last 10, the Red Sox are slowly gaining on the second place Rays who are just 2-8 over their last 10. The Yankees are still poised atop the division with a record of 47-27, the the Sox are on the right track to make a good run for the pennant post All-Star break.
Over the last week, the Red Sox bats have been hot. Devers, Holt, Bogaerts, Chavis, and Vasquez are all hitting for an average of above .300 in that span. Benintendi and Betts aren’t far behind, with averages of .296 and .292 in the last week, respectively. Although this lineup hasn’t faced Thornton before, they’re hitting .270 with an OBP of .351 against righties on the year.
Sale has had an off-kilter year thus far. He’s had flashes of really great pitching in recent games, but his rough start to the season continues to inflate his ERA. In one start against the Blue Jays this season, he gave up 5 runs in just 4 innings pitched for an ERA of 11.25. He gave up 7 hits in that start.
Toronto Blue Jays Starting Lineup
1. Freddy Galvis (S) SS
2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) DH
3. Rowdy Tellez (L) 1B
4. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (R) LF
5. Randal Grichuk (R) RF
6. Cavan Biggio (L) 2B
7. Jonathan Davis (R) CF
8. Luke Maile (R) C
9. Brandon Drury (R) (3B)
9. Trevor Thornton (R) P
Blue Jays Analysis
With each passing day, it’s becoming more and more apparent the Jays aren’t going to make a spectacular run for the playoffs this season. However, the young talent on their roster is incredibly promising as they’ll likely be a team to look out for in years to come. They’re 4-6 in their last 10 games and currently 20.5 games out of first place in the AL East.
This lineup doesn’t have a ton of exposure to Sale, but Galvis is hitting .250 off of him through 8 ABs. Grichuk is hitting .400 through 10. Maile, Hernandez, and Grichuk have all taken Sale deep once. Sogard and Gurriel each had 3 hits in yesterday’s 7-5 win against the Angels. Galvis and Grichuk had 2.
Thornton has been good on the road all year. At 2-2 with an ERA of 2.98 in games outside of Toronto, he’s actually posted better numbers than when does get home starts. He’s 1-1 in his last two starts, giving up a total of 13 hits and 3 runs between the two.
Red Sox vs. Blue Jays Odds
The line is currently set at Red Sox -320 Blue Jays +260 after opening at Sox -340 Jays +270. The line movement has been insignificant thus far. I’m going to advise anyone wanting to bet on this game to stick a lower wager on the Blue Jays money line. First, the payoff is hard to beat. But second, Sale struggled immensely in his last start against the Jays, giving up 5 runs in 4.0 innings. He hasn’t been good at home all year. Whether or not they win, I still see the Blue Jays as the best value bet in this one.
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