Toronto @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 12, 2010 ) Boston 5, Toronto 6
The playoff picture is beginning to look bleak for the Boston Red Sox.
With just 40 games to play, the Red Sox fell 6 1/2 games behind the front-running New York Yankees in the American League East race after Thursday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
They are trail Tampa Bay by 5 ½ games for the wild-cart spot. And they’re not any healthier.
The Red Sox look to stay in the race as they begin a crucial three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays Friday night at Fenway Park.
Boston dropped the finale of a 10-game season series against the Los Angeles Angels Thursday. The Red Sox, who won the first nine games of the series, took a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning before the Angels jumped on Josh Beckett.
Hideki Matsui’s three-run homer in the sixth capped a four-run rally and L.A. added three more runs in the seventh on the way to a 7-2 victory.
The Red Sox played without second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who missed the game with a sore right foot. Pedroia had returned to the lineup on Tuesday after missing nearly two months with a broken bone in the foot and said it would be impossible to expect him to play 43 games straight after returning from the injury.
Still, after Boston lost center fielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron to expected season-ending injuries on Wednesday, Pedroia’s injury coupled with Boston’s loss on Thursday is beginning to make a playoff berth look improbable.
Boston also placed catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia on the disabled list with an infection in his leg on Thursday. The Red Sox acquired Saltalamacchia a week ago from the Texas Rangers to help fill the void at catcher.
Jason Varitek is still on the DL with a broken foot and Victor Martinez returned a couple of weeks ago from a broken finger. Boston recalled Dusty Brown to spell Martinez, as backup Kevin Cash is also on the DL.
With a laundry list of injuries never seeming to cease for Boston, Jon Lester gets the start tonight. Lester is 6-3 lifetime against the Blue Jays and 2-0 on the season.
The left-hander beat the Jays 14-3 on July 9 at the Rogers Centre and threw seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball, striking out 11, in a 2-0 win at Toronto on April 28.
The Blue Jays had Thursday off after losing two of three games at Oakland to fall 11 1/2 games behind the Yankees.
The Jays will start Brett Cecil, who is winless in three appearances against Boston. Cecil allowed just one run in a matchup against Lester in April that was won by Boston 2-0.
Toronto demoted prospect J.P. Arencibia after Wednesday’s game at Oakland. Arencibia, who belted two home runs in his major league debut, snapped an 0-for-15 skid with an RBI single in the ninth inning against the A’s.
John Buck is expected to replace him on the major league roster. Buck has been on the DL after taking a foul tip off his thumb earlier in the month. He has 14 homers and 49 RBIs while batting .277.