Final
  for this game

Blue Jays-Red Sox Preview

Apr 17, 2016 - 11:10 PM While there's little doubt he can be a frontline starter when healthy, Clay Buchholz still seems to be working his way back after having last season cut short.

The right-hander has yet to perform like the No. 2 starter the Boston Red Sox hoped for, but he'll try to take a step forward Monday when the Red Sox look to get back on track and take three of four from the potentially high-scoring Toronto Blue Jays.

This will be the final Patriots Day game for retiring David Ortiz, who gave a powerful pregame speech at Fenway Park five days after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.

"First and foremost, you can't forget the victims and those that were impacted most directly," manager John Farrell told MLB's official website. "Not only the individuals themselves, but certainly their families. That was a surreal moment when it took place."

Buchholz (0-1, 10.00 ERA) will try to give Boston (6-5) a holiday victory by pitching more like he did during an 11-start stretch in 2015 when he went 5-2 with a 1.99 ERA before having to miss the entire second half with a flexor strain.

After getting tagged for five runs over four innings of a 7-6 loss at Cleveland on April 6, he surrendered five runs in five innings of Tuesday's 9-5 home loss to Baltimore.

The two-time All-Star has struck out nine after posting a career-high 9.0 per nine innings last season, but he's walked six and allowed 11 hits, including three homers.

"It's all about consistent location for Clay," Farrell said.

Buchholz held Toronto (6-7) to one run over eight innings of a 3-1 road win in his most recent meeting June 29, but he's 1-5 with a 5.51 ERA in his last eight matchups at Fenway. Ryan Goins is 9 for 21 lifetime off him and Chris Colabello went 5 for 9 last season.

Colabello, hitting 2 for 25 in 2016, could get a day off after getting hit in the helmet by a fastball in the fourth inning of Sunday's 5-3 victory. The first baseman got up and stayed in the game, though he was replaced by Justin Smoak in the bottom of the eighth.

Jose Bautista had his third home run and a double Sunday when Toronto snapped a four-game road losing streak. Bautista and Josh Donaldson each have four hits over the past two games, while Edwin Encarnacion is 6 for 13 with two homers in this series.

The Jays had been hitting .214 before finishing with a season-high 14 hits Sunday. Troy Tulowitzki singled to raise his average to .128, but struck out three times.

J.A. Happ (1-0, 2.25) looks to continue his outstanding stretch after improving to 8-1 with a 1.52 ERA in his last 12 starts dating to last season.

The left-hander allowed only one run in Wednesday's 7-2 home win over the New York Yankees despite allowing seven hits and three walks over six innings.

"If you look back, our starting pitching has been very, very good, for the most part," manager John Gibbons, whose staff is 6-3 with a 3.44 ERA in 13 starts, told the team's official website after Happ's previous outing. "They've always given us a shot."

Happ has gone 1-1 with a 2.88 ERA over his last four starts against the Red Sox, who have yet to face a lefty starter this season.

Boston finished with a season-low four hits as its three-game winning streak ended Sunday. Travis Shaw had one of the highlights with a two-run home run - his first of the season - in the ninth inning and has now knocked in five runs in this series.