Red Sox at Blue Jays
The Boston Red Sox knew it was only a matter of time before the sand in the hourglass ran out on their hopes of winning their fourth consecutive American League East title, and it might not be much longer before their postseason aspirations fade away as well. The Red Sox attempt to end a three-game losing streak when they visit the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday for the opener of their three-game series.
One of four teams in baseball with at least 800 runs scored, Boston was shut out for only the fifth time this season in Monday's 5-0 loss to the division-leading New York Yankees, dropping it 18 1/2 games back with 18 remaining. The Red Sox must quickly turn their attention to the wild-card race if they want to make the postseason for a fourth consecutive year, although doing so will be difficult with eight games to make up on Oakland over the final 19 days of the season. The Blue Jays may be an accommodating opponent, however, as their season has fallen off the rails with losses in 16 of their last 19 contests. Toronto finished a winless six-game road trip and saw its overall slide reach seven contests with Sunday's 8-4 loss at Tampa Bay.
TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), Sportsnet (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 5.77 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH T.J. Zeuch (0-0, 4.50)
Eovaldi still is working on building up his pitch count after serving as a reliever for nearly a month after coming off the injured list following elbow surgery. The native of Houston allowed one run over five innings in a no-decision against Minnesota on Thursday, six days after he registered eight strikeouts over four frames in another no-decision against the Los Angeles Angels. Rowdy Tellez (1-for-2) and Justin Smoak (1-for-10) have homered against Eovaldi, who is 1-1 with a 3.90 ERA in five career games (four starts) versus Toronto.
Zeuch is set to make his first major-league start after faring well in his debut last Tuesday, when he worked three scoreless frames before fading in his final inning of work against Atlanta. In all, the 24-year-old allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while recording four strikeouts in four innings of relief. Zeuch, who was promoted after going 4-3 with a 3.74 ERA in 15 minor-league starts with two teams this year, owns a 19-19 record and 3.52 ERA in 66 career contests (65 starts) in the minors.
WALK-OFFS
1. Red Sox SS Xander Bogaerts needs one double while 3B Rafael Devers needs a two-base hit and a homer to become the first set of teammates in major-league history with 30 blasts and 50 doubles in the same season.
2. Despite playing in only 83 games thus far, Toronto 2B Cavan Biggio's 59 walks are the third-most for a rookie in club history.
3. Boston has recorded at least one extra-base hit in 158 straight games, leaving it six shy of tying its own major-league record (2004-05).