James Paxton remains not only one of the Red Sox’s healthy starters but one of the most effective on the ballclub.
On the season, the veteran left-hander is 6-2 with a 3.34 ERA in 13 starts with the Red Sox and Boston has won three of his last five starts. With two months of numerous injuries to starters such as Chris Sale, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock, Paxton has kept the rotation afloat with Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford.
As Paxton prepares to start the opener of a three-game weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night, he holds the chance to win his fourth straight start against the American League East rival dating back to 2019.
The southpaw has won three consecutive outings against the Blue Jays, allowing only one earned run across 18 2/3 innings and 17 strikeouts. Most recently, Paxton dominated Toronto for 7 2/3 scoreless innings at Rogers Centre on June 30 with two walks and seven strikeouts in the win for the Red Sox.
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The southpaw is set to oppose righty Alek Manoah for the Blue Jays as the teams begin a three-game set with major wild card implications as Toronto holds the final American League wild card spot with the Red Sox closing in.
You can watch Friday’s game, plus 90 minutes of pregame coverage, on NESN.
Featured image via Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports Images
