Red Sox vs. Blue Jays 7/15/19: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds
Contents
TV & Radio Section
Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 7/15/19 7:10 PM ET Fenway Park, Boston, MA, TV: Boston (NESN), Toronto (SNET, TVA Sports) Radio: Boston (WEEI 93.7, WCCM 1490 AM/103.7 FM), Toronto (SN590)
Matchup Preview
The latest installment of the Red Sox/Blue Jays season series picks up again tonight. On the year, the Red Sox lead the series 7 games to 5. Rick Porcello gets the nod for the Red Sox tonight. He’s 6-7 on the year with an ERA of 5.33. For the Blue Jays, it’ll be Trent Thornton, the 3-6 righty with a 4.85 ERA.
In his last three starts before the All-Star break, Porcello went 1-1 with an ERA of 12.75. He will look to regain his footing tonight at Fenway, but on the year he’s 0-1 with an ERA of 4.50 against the Blue Jays. He’s 4-4 at Fenway on the year with an ERA of 5.02.
Blue Jay’s rookie Trent Thornton has fanned 97 on the year — that’s 16 more than Porcello. His 4.85 ERA isn’t great, but his last start against the Orioles was among the best on the season for the right-hander. He shut them out through 6 innings. In two starts against the Red Sox, Thornton has a 9.00 ERA.
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. Rick Porcello SP (R)
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 2.5 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.
Post All-Star Break, the bats of Bogaerts, Holt, Devers, and Betts have looked especially good. They’re all hitting above .300 in the 3 games the Red Sox have suited up for. Bogaerts has 3 HRs in those 3 games and a total of 6 hits in 12 ABs. The Red Sox have looked great against Thornton on the year, with 7 players hitting at least .300 against the right-hander through the two games they’ve faced him.
In my opinion, Porcello is the only thing that could potentially lose the Red Sox this game. He picked up a win in his only game pitched in July before the All-Star break, but gave up 6 runs in just 5.2 innings pitched. In two games pitched against the Blue Jays on the year, he has a 4.50 ERA and a SO/W ratio of 1.50. He’s allowed a .239 batting average to the Jays in those two outings.
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), 3-6
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 25.5 games back in the East and 18.0 games back in the AL Wild Card race.
The Blue Jays fell two games to one in their opening post All-Star break series against the Yankees. In those three games, their bats haven’t looked all too good, as only Sogard and Jansen are hitting above .300, with Jansen only playing 2 of those games. Guerrero Jr. and Hernandez have both taken Porcello deep once in 7 ABs for Guerrero and 10 ABs for Hernandez. Smoak has gone yard against the righty 4 times in 32 ABs.
It’s unfortunate timing for Thornton that the All-Star break came right after one of his best starts of the season. If he can keep that momentum rolling into today’s game, he’ll be in good shape. But the Red Sox rocked him in his last go against them on 7/2 where he gave up 7 earned runs in just 2.2 innings pitched. However, earlier in the season at Fenway, he gave up just 2 runs in 6.1 innings pitched.
Red Sox vs. Blue Jays Betting Odds
The line is currently set at Red Sox -178 Blue Jays +164 after opening at the same. I cannot, in good conscious, advise betting the Blue Jays in this one. Despite Porcello being on the mound for the Red Sox, their bats have been on fire since the All-Star break, and Thronton’s last outing against the Red Sox was abysmal. After opening at 11, the over/under is currently set at 10.5 runs. That line movement doesn’t help very much in one way or the other, but if I was picking today I’d take the under.
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