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Red Sox look to gain ground vs. Blue Jays

Sep 13, 2008 - 10:11 AM Toronto (79-68) at Boston (86-60) (1ST GAME) 12:35 p.m. EDT

BOSTON (Ticker) -- The Boston Red Sox will get two chances to keep the pressure on in the American League East on Saturday.

On doubleheader day in Major League Baseball, the Red Sox and Blue Jays will hook up for a pair at Fenway Park.

With rain all over the country wiping out games on Friday, six doubleheaders will be played. The Red Sox and Blue Jays actually played their game through the rain drops on Friday, but the twinbill was already scheduled due to an earlier rainout.

Boston picked up a 7-0 win in the series opener, with Tim Wakefield tossing eight strong innings and rookie Jed Lowrie driving in a pair of runs.

The win pushed the Red Sox to within two games of the Tampa Bay Rays (87-57), who had their game at New York wiped out.

A.J. Burnett (17-10, 4.31) will get the start for the Blue Jays in the opener. The hard-throwing righthander leads the American League in strikeouts with 208 and is attempting to finish the season strong and move onto the free agent market in the offseason.

Burnett has the option to opt-out of the final two years of his five-year, $55 million contract with Toronto and could cash in after setting career highs in wins and strikeouts.

The 31-year-old was knocked around by the Red Sox on August 24, allowing five runs and seven hits in seven frames.

The Red Sox will counter with veteran soft-tosser Paul Byrd (11-11, 4.39). The righthander is 4-1 since joining Boston in a waiver trade from the Cleveland Indians on August 12, and has posted an 8-1 mark with a 2.61 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break.

Byrd has faced the Blue Jays three times over the last month, going 2-1 while allowing 10 runs in 22 1/3 frames.