Rick Porcello did not look like the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner in his last start.
The Boston Red Sox ace was crushed by the Tampa Bay Rays for eight runs over just 4 1/3 innings of work in a 10-5 Red Sox loss last Friday.
Boston has rolled since Porcello’s poor outing, as it has won four consecutive games, the most recent coming in Tuesday night’s 8-7 win over the Toronto Blue Jays for Brian Johnson’s first major-league victory. Johnson’s stint in the majors was short-lived, though, as he was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket on Wednesday as Eduardo Rodriguez has returned from paternity leave.
Red Sox manager John Farrell said Rodriguez would be available out of the bullpen for Wednesday night’s matchup against the Blue Jays, but the Sox are hoping they will get a strong performance out of Porcello to eliminate the need for a relief appearance from Rodriguez.
Here are the Red Sox’s and Blue Jays’ lineups for Wednesday’s 7:07 p.m. ET game.
BOSTON RED SOX (9-5)
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
AndrewBenintendi, CF
Mookie Betts, RF
Hanley Ramirez, DH
Mitch Moreland, 1B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Chris Young, LF
Pablo Sandoval, 3B
Sandy Leon, C
Rick Porcello, RHP (1-1, 7.56 ERA)
TORONTO BLUE JAYS (2-11)
Kevin Pillar, CF
Ezequiel Carrera, LF
Jose Bautista, RF
Kendrys Morales, DH
Troy Tulowitzki, SS
Russell Martin, C
Justin Smoak, 1B
Darwin Barney, 3B
Devon Travis, 2B
Francisco Liriano, LHP (0-1, 9.00 ERA)
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
