Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays 7/3/19: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds
Contents
TV & Radio Section
Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 7/3/19 7:07 PM ET Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON, TV: Boston (NESN), Toronto (SNET, TVA Sports) Radio: Boston (WEEI 93.7, WCCM 1490 AM/103.7 FM), Toronto (SN590)
Matchup Preview
The second game of a classic AL East matchup is set to start tonight at 7:07 PM ET in Toronto. Boston took last night’s contest 10-6 with David Price picking up the win. It’ll be the left-handed Chris Sale for the Red Sox tonight as righty Jacob Waguespack suits up for the Blue Jays in his first Major League start.
Sale is 3-7 on the year with an ERA of 3.82. He’s posted a whopping 148 Ks on the year, but overall his first half has been quite inconsistent, especially with what we’re used to from the veteran. Tonight will mark his last start before the All-Star break. He’s 5-1 with an ERA of 1.60 through nine appearances at Rogers Centre.
Waguespack is making his first Major League start after being recalled form Triple-A. His only other Major League appearance came on May 27th of this year where he pitched 4 innings in relief and finished with a 4.50 ERA, fanning 7. He landed on the IL after that appearance.
Boston Red Sox Starting Lineup
1. Mookie Betts (R) RF
2. Andrew Benintendi (L) LF
3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH
4. Rafael Devers (L) 3B
5. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
6. Brock Holt (L) 2B
7. Michael Chavis (R) 1B
8. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) CF
9. Christian Vazquez C (R)
SP. Chris Sale (L) 5-2
Red Sox Analysis
As the Yankees seem to be pulling away in the AL East, the AL Wildcard seems to be the best bet for the Red Sox to find an avenue into the post-season this year. They’re currently just 1.5 games out of the second wildcard spot. If they continue to play good baseball and have a quintessential 21st century Red Sox second-half, I don’t see it being a problem for them grabbing one of the wild card spots.
Devers posted 5 hits with 2 home runs in last night’s contest, accounting for 6 of the Red Sox’s 10 RBIs. The rest of the Red Sox’s bats continue to stay hot as they posted 14 hits in last night’s game after finishing the two-game London series with a team total of 33 hits. The Sox haven’t faced Waguespack before, but on the year they are hitting .278 off of righties with an OBP of .355.
Sale has put together a strange first half of 2019 thus far. When he’s on, he’s been great. However, in his last outing against the White Sox, he gave up 5 earned runs in just 6.0 innings pitched. That’s not necessarily terrible when the Red Sox are still getting quality starts out of him, it’s just uncharacteristic. Sale is 7-4 against the Blue Jays in his career through 17 appearances. He’s posted an ERA of 2.81 with a SO/W ratio of 5.09.
Toronto Blue Jays Starting Lineup
1. C. Biggio, 2B (L)
2. V. Guerrero Jr., 3B (R)
3. L. Gurriel, LF (R)
4. R. Grichuk, RF (R)
5. J. Smoak, 1B (S)
6. T. Hernandez, CF (R)
7. R. Tellez, DH (L)
8. F. Galvis, SS (S)
9. D. Jansen, C (R)
SP. T. Thornton (R), 2-5
Blue Jays Analysis
While the Blue Jays don’t seem to have a shot at entering the post-season this year, any fan has to at least be pleased with the promising young talent on the team. The Jays are 5-5 in their last 10 and they’re currently 23.5 games back in the East and 15.0 games back in the AL Wild Card race.
Gurriel, Grichuk, Sogard, Biggio, and Jansen are all hitting over .300 in the last week. Galvis, Grichuk, Guerrero Jr., Maile, and Sogard are all hitting above .300 off of Sale, so I wouldn’t count the Blue Jays out of this one. It’s no secret that Price has the Blue Jays number, but with Sale on the mound tonight with his rocky 2019, I see the Blue Jays piecing together a solid offensive performance.
In 52 innings pitched in Triple-A this year, Waguespack has an ERA of 5.30, while also fanning 52. As of now, it seems like Waguespack is a strikeout pitcher who makes a few mistakes throughout the course of a game that account for the high ERA.
Red Sox vs. Blue Jays Betting Odds
The line is currently set at BOS -271 TOR +246 after opening at the same. I’m going to come in with a hot take here and say the Blue Jays are my pick. There’s a certain magic that follows pitchers making their MLB debut, and I can definitely see that happening tonight. On top of that, Sale has struggled this year and his last start was anything but a gem. The over/under is set at 9.5 right now. I’d go with the over in tonight’s contest.
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