The Red Sox were washed out in their series opener with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, losing 11-5 in a rain-shortened contest, but they still managed to inch closer to their goal of a postseason berth.
With the Rangers losing in Los Angeles to fall 5 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL wild card, race, the Sox' magic number has now been reduced to just one. Either a Sox win or a Texas loss on Tuesday will guarantee Boston's spot in October baseball.
When and Where
7:10 p.m. ET (NESN), September 29, 2009
Fenway Park, Boston, Mass.
Records
Red Sox (91-66, 2nd place in AL East)
Blue Jays (74-84, 4th place in AL East)
Head to Head
On Monday night, the Red Sox did something they'd avoided doing all season: lose to the Blue Jays at Fenway Park. The Sox' record against the Jays took a beating on Monday, but they're still a superb 11-5 against them overall this season, and they won their first seven meetings at home.
Skinny
For the Blue Jays, there's always next year. This was a team that back in April, looked poised to run away with the AL East — but the Jays couldn't stand the test of time. The Sox had won their last six meetings with the Blue Jays going into Monday night, and despite Monday's loss, they seem to have things pretty well figured out against Toronto. Now, they'll try to get one more win.
Starting Lineups
| Blue Jays |
Red Sox |
| Jose Bautista, RF | Jacoby Ellsbury, CF |
| Aaron Hill, 2B | Dustin Pedroia, 2B |
| Adam Lind, DH | Victor Martinez, C |
| Vernon Wells, CF | Kevin Youkilis, 3B |
| Lyle Overbay, 1B | David Ortiz, DH |
| Rod Barajas, C | Jason Bay, LF |
| Kevin Millar, 3B | J.D. Drew, RF |
| Travis Snider, lF | Casey Kotchman, 1B |
| John McDonald, SS | Alex Gonzalez, SS |
Starting Pitchers
RHP Clay Buchholz (7-3, 3.21 ERA) vs. LHP Ricky Romero (12-9, 4.28 ERA)
If anyone was foolish enough to think Clay Buchholz wasn't ready to be an impact pitcher down the stretch, the Sox' young righty has spent the past two months shutting them up. Buchholz is undefeated in his last eight starts, and his ERA has dropped over a run from 4.45 on August 13 to 3.21 today. He's found his control, and his command just keeps getting better. Time to see if he's ready for October.
Romero was an early favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year award this season, but over the past couple of months, doubt has begun to set in. Romero has lost four of his last five decisions, and the going has only gotten rockier as the season's gone on. Romero put up a 4.26 ERA in July, a 5.03 mark in August and he's sitting at 5.83 so far in September. So much for postseason accolades — but he's still got a job, and overall, his season looks pretty solid.
Stat Sheet
Red Sox
The Red Sox are 52-23 at home this season.
They have scored 828 runs, third-most in the AL.
Clay Buchholz is 5-3 against the Blue Jays in his career. He has a 2.35 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.
Jacoby Ellsbury leads the major leagues in stolen bases with 66.
Victor Martinez has 102 RBIs. He has surpassed the 100 mark for the third time in his career.
Kevin Youkilis has a .412 on-base percentage, second-best in the AL.
Jason Bay is fifth in the AL with a .930 OPS.
Dustin Pedroia has scored 110 runs, second-most in the AL.
David Ortiz has 27 home runs since May 20.
Alex Gonzalez has a .455 slugging percentage in 38 games with the Red Sox. He has four home runs and 10 doubles.
Mike Lowell is a .332 career hitter against the Blue Jays. He has 12 homers and 45 RBIs.
J.D. Drew is 3-for-8 against Ricky Romero. He has three singles, three strikeouts and three walks.
Blue Jays
The Blue Jays are 24-43 against AL East opponents this season.
Ricky Romero has an 8.83 ERA in four starts against the Red Sox. He has never beaten them.
Adam Lind is slugging .548, fifth-best in the AL.
Aaron Hill has scored 99 runs, 10th-most in the AL.
Marco Scutaro is sixth in the AL with 90 walks.
Kevin Millar is a .243 career hitter against the Red Sox, his former team. He has eight home runs and 33 RBIs.
Vernon Wells is 2-for-9 against Clay Buchholz with two singles, three walks and an RBI.
Jose Bautista is hitting .211 on the road this season.
Black and Blue
Red Sox
Jon Lester, who is day-to-day with a quad contusion, performed well in a side throwing session at Fenway Park on Monday. He hopes to make his final start of the regular season on Thursday night.
Junichi Tazawa is out for the season with a a mild left groin strain.
Miguel Gonzalez has been on the 60-day disabled list since March 27. He is recovering from right elbow surgery.
Blue Jays
Marco Scutaro exited last Sunday's game against the Rays in the sixth inning due to an injury to his right heel. He hopes to return this week but his status is uncertain.
Shaun Marcum is recovering from right elbow surgery. He is out for the season.
Dustin McGowan is out for the season as well. He is recovering from surgery on his right shoulder.
This Date In Red Sox History
In 1969, Red Sox shortstop Rico Petrocelli homered in the seventh inning off of Washington Senators reliever Jim Shellenback. It was his 40th home run of the season, breaking the single-season record for home runs by a shortstop set by Vern Stephens in 1949.
Overheard
"On the plane last night, he tried to get comfortable and didn't. I think he thought he'd wake up, take a hot shower and go about his business. When that didn't happen, he called me and John Farrell was in at the time and it wasn't a real difficult decision to say, 'This doesn't make sense to us.'"
–Manager Terry Francona, in the Boston Globe, before Monday's game. Francona scratched Josh Beckett from his scheduled start Monday.
Press Box
Red Sox
The wild card is key for the Red Sox.
The Sox haven't clinched anything yet.
Terry Francona's take on Beckett and Lester.
Blue Jays
The Blue Jays beat up on Boston in the series opener.
The Jays do not have any home games left.
Adam Lind wants the Jays to become a winning team.
MLB
The Angels clinched the AL West with their win over Texas last night.
The Yankees didn't need their regular starters to beat Kansas City.
Ron Gardenhire's steady hand has guided the Twins.
Outlook
All right — this is it. The Sox finally have a chance to put that final nail in the Rangers' coffins and guarantee a berth in October. If the Sox can sew things up on Tuesday night, they'll have five days left to rest their stars and line up their pitching for the postseason. The sooner the Sox can finish things, the better — and against a Toronto team that they've dominated this season, their chances look good.
