Final
Red Sox-Blue Jays Preview
Jul 1, 2015 - 9:43 PM The Toronto Blue Jays finally busted out of some woes at the plate.That figures to be bad news for Boston Red Sox starter Wade Miley as he faces the club that excels the most against left-handers.
Miley has lost his last five starts against division opponents and gets the ball Thursday night as the visiting Red Sox look to capture a four-game series.
Toronto (42-38) closed out June by totaling seven runs while batting .154 in losing three of four, including the first two games of this series. The Blue Jays built a seven-run lead after two innings Wednesday and cruised to an 11-2 rout to snap the Red Sox's three-game win streak.
Justin Smoak homered from both sides of the plate, three other Blue Jays went deep and Jose Reyes had four hits and scored four runs as Toronto finished with 16 hits - one shy of matching a season high.
''This is what we needed,'' manager John Gibbons said. ''We've been shut down the past few days.''
Now it's up to Miley (7-7, 4.38 ERA) to slow down that attack after going 0-5 with a 7.01 ERA in his last five outings against the AL East. That includes a 7-0 loss at Toronto on May 8 in which he surrendered four runs in six innings.
That victory is part of the Blue Jays' AL-best 11-5 mark against left-handed starters. Toronto leads the majors with a .306 average against southpaws.
Reyes is 4 for 8 against Miley and Edwin Encarnacion is 3 for 4 with two doubles. Russell Martin has faced Miley the most among Toronto hitters, going 3 for 12 with six strikeouts.
Miley pitches his best in July, going 11-4 with a 2.40 ERA. He went 3-2 with a 3.30 ERA in five starts in June after allowing two runs over 6 1-3 innings in Saturday's 4-1 defeat at Tampa Bay.
Boston (36-44) owns a .226 average against left-handers for one of baseball's worst marks as it gets its first look at Toronto rookie Matt Boyd, who makes his second start.
Boyd gave up four runs - three on solo homers - in 6 2-3 innings in Saturday's 4-0 loss to Texas in his big-league debut. He was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo to take the place of the injured Aaron Sanchez.
"I wasn't nervous, I was excited," said Boyd, who allowed nine hits and struck out seven with no walks. "It's definitely something to build on."
He hopes Toronto can duplicate its outburst from Wednesday. Encarnacion hit a three-run homer and Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson also went deep, with Bautista ending an 0-for-25 slump with a two-run shot in the second inning.
Boston outfielder Hanley Ramirez went 1 for 4 with a triple as he returned to the lineup after missing six games with a sore left hand.
Mookie Betts, who homered Wednesday, is batting .404 during a 13-game hitting streak against Toronto. Manager John Farrell wasn't happy after the center fielder lost track of the number of outs in the sixth inning.
''There's no excuse for that,'' Farrell said. ''Losing track of the outs in the inning, it can't be accepted.''
Boston is expected to activate catcher Ryan Hanigan, out since May 1 with a fractured hand.
- BOSTON: 12
TORONTO: 6
Final
Jul 2 10:41 PM - Alejandro De Aza singles to right field. Mike Napoli scores.
Red Sox 12, Blue Jays 4 Top 8, 2 OutsJul 2 10:12 PM - Bogaerts infield single to third, Hanigan scored, Betts to third.
Red Sox 11, Blue Jays 4 Top 7, 2 OutsJul 2 9:49 PM - Xander Bogaerts singles to shallow infield. Mookie Betts to third. Ryan Hanigan scores.
Red Sox 11, Blue Jays 4 Top 7, 2 OutsJul 2 9:49 PM - Betts singled to right, De Aza scored, Hanigan to second.
Red Sox 10, Blue Jays 4 Top 7, 1 OutJul 2 9:42 PM - Mookie Betts singles to shallow right field. Ryan Hanigan to second. Alejandro De Aza scores.
Red Sox 10, Blue Jays 4 Top 7, 1 OutJul 2 9:42 PM - De Aza safe at second on fielding error by first baseman Colabello, Sandoval scored.
Red Sox 9, Blue Jays 4 Top 7, 1 OutJul 2 9:38 PM - Alejandro De Aza doubles to right field. Pablo Sandoval scores.
Red Sox 9, Blue Jays 4 Top 7, 1 OutJul 2 9:37 PM - Bautista singled to left, Pillar scored, Travis scored, Donaldson to second.
Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 4 Bot 2, 2 OutsJul 2 8:00 PM - Jose Bautista singles to left field. Josh Donaldson to second. Devon Travis scores. Kevin Pillar scores.
Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 4 Bot 2, 2 OutsJul 2 8:00 PM - Donaldson walked, Ru.Martin scored, Pillar to third, Travis to second.
Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 2 Bot 2, 2 OutsJul 2 7:58 PM - Devon Travis to second. Kevin Pillar to third. Russell Martin scores.
Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 2 Bot 2, 2 OutsJul 2 7:58 PM - Travis singled to right, Colabello scored, Ru.Martin to third, Pillar to second.
Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 1 Bot 2, 1 OutJul 2 7:55 PM - Devon Travis singles to right field. Kevin Pillar to second. Russell Martin to third. Chris Colabello scores.
Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 1 Bot 2, 1 OutJul 2 7:55 PM - Mookie Betts singles to left field. Alejandro De Aza scores.
Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 0 Top 1, 1 OutJul 2 7:30 PM - De Aza tripled to center, Sandoval scored, Napoli scored.
Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 0 Top 1, 0 OutsJul 2 7:25 PM - Alejandro De Aza triples to deep left center field. Mike Napoli scores. Pablo Sandoval scores.
Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 0 Top 1, 0 OutsJul 2 7:25 PM - Ortiz homered to left on a 2-0 count, B.Holt scored, Bogaerts scored.
Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 0 Top 1, 0 OutsJul 2 7:15 PM - David Ortiz homers to left field. Xander Bogaerts scores. Brock Holt scores.
Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 0 Top 1, 0 OutsJul 2 7:15 PM - Bogaerts singled to center, Betts scored, B.Holt to second.
Red Sox 1, Blue Jays 0 Top 1, 0 OutsJul 2 7:13 PM - Xander Bogaerts singles to center field. Brock Holt to second. Mookie Betts scores.
Red Sox 1, Blue Jays 0 Top 1, 0 OutsJul 2 7:13 PM - Mookie Betts singles to left field.
Jul 2 7:08 PM - BOSTON: 0
TORONTO: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Jul 2 7:07 PM
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