Editor's note: The temperature gauge
is a Bill James-created statistic that measures how hot or cold hitters
are. We will spotlight Red Sox and opposing team temperatures on game
days.
Dustin Pedroia has been about as hot as the sun in recent weeks. The All-Star second baseman is hitting at a scorching pace since the middle of August, raising his average from a season low of .262 on August 5 to his current average of .290.
Pedroia has kept the pace going since the calendar turned to September, going 8-for-18 during the first five games of the month, but he's not the only Boston hitter making noise. Cody Ross has kept up his season-long hot streak of late, going 6-for-20 with one home run and six RBIs in the new month.
The Blue Jays come to town on Friday night for a three-game series with the Sox, but they've fallen on hard times at the dish recently. The Jays have dropped four of their past five games and Edwin Encarnacion has cooled off since belting three home runs in three games, going 0-for-9 in the past three games.
With neither team really sizzling at the plate of late, this weekend's series could see only a few runs cross the plate. Check out the hitting temperatures for the players on both teams heading into Friday night.
Blue Jays:
Omar Vizquel, 72
Edwin Encarnacion, 69
Yunel Escobar, 68
Rajai Davis, 68
Anthony Gose, 68
Mike McCoy, 68
Kelly Johnson, 66
Adeiny Hechavarria, 65
Adam Lind, 60
Yorvit Torrealba, 60
Moises Sierra, 51
Jeff Mathis, 47
Colby Rasmus, 45
Red Sox:
Dustin Pedroia, 88
Cody Ross, 80
Ryan Kalish, 74
Ivan De Jesus, 68
James Loney, 68
Jacoby Ellsbury, 67
Mauro Gomez, 64
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 64
Mike Aviles, 62
Jose
Iglesias, 58
Scott Podsednik, 55
Ryan Lavarnway, 53
Pedro Ciriaco, 48
