Boston @ Toronto preview
Rogers Centre
Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2012 ) Boston 8, Toronto 5
After welcoming his second son, All-Star second baseman Dustin Pedroia is expected to rejoin his team on Saturday when the Boston Red Sox continue their three-game series against the host Toronto Blue Jays. Pedroia missed the last two games while he was spending some quality time with his growing family. If Pedroia was watching Friday's game on television, he saw rookie Mauro Gomez rip a two-run triple to snap a tie in the ninth inning as Boston ended a six-game losing skid to Toronto.
Daniel Nava continued his torrid streak north of the border with a two-run single in the fifth. Nava, who also made a game-saving catch in the eighth inning, is 6-for-16 with three doubles in four games at Rogers Centre this season. The Blue Jays haven't been giving their fans much to cheer as of late, losing seven of their last nine at home.
TV: 1:07 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), RSN (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Clay Buchholz (11-6, 4.46 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Carlos Villanueva (7-5, 3.48)
Buchholz has dropped three in a row, but comes into Saturday's game having won eight of his 12 career decisions versus Toronto - including six straight starts at Rogers Centre. The 28-year-old has yielded four runs in each of his last three starts - including a 4-3 setback to the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Sunday. Buchholz has struggled with his control lately, issuing three walks in three of his last five outings.
Villanueva recorded a quality start in his last outing - against the Red Sox, no less. The 28-year-old Dominican has won two of his three career decisions versus Boston, but has dropped five of his last six overall. Villanueva has struggled with the long ball - yielding two to the Red Sox on Sunday.
WALK-OFFS
1. Buchholz has flustered Edwin Encarnacion in his career, limiting him to just one hit in 14 at-bats.
2. Boston manager Bobby Valentine was critical of his club prior to Friday's game, noting that it has "the weakest roster we've ever had in September in the history of baseball."
3. Pedroia is batting .381 while hitting in all but three of 35 games since Aug. 5. He is 4-for-10 with a pair of homers in his career versus Villanueva.