Boston Red Sox (2-1 .667 0 GB) at Toronto Blue Jays (1-2 .333 1 GB)
TEAM PROFILE
Coming off a disastrous 2012, the Red Sox made significant changes to their roster this offseason, adding outfielders Shane Victorino and Johnny Gomes, shortstop Stephen Drew, catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli, starting pitcher Ryan Dempster, and reliever Koji Uehara. However, the focus for this series lies squarely on two other additions. In Toronto all eyes will be on the Bosox new manager, John Farrell, who will no doubt be greeted with a less than hospitable response from jilted Jays fans. But in Beantown the spotlight shines brightest on rookie left fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. Expectations in Boston for the 2013 season are muted (at least by their standards) as the club rebuilds, but the much hyped Bradley Jr. had a strong spring training and Red Sox fans are pinning their hopes on him in much the same way that Jays fans were counting on Brett Lawrie heading into last year.
The Sox took 2 of 3 from the Yankees in New York to start the year. Bradley Jr. collected 2 hits and 3 walks in the series, but it’s another rookie that has provided an offensive spark for the team – shortstop Jose Iglesias, generally considered to be an offensive liability with a strong glove, went 7 for 12 in New York while playing in place of the injured Drew.
INJURY REPORTS
Boston Red Sox:
- Stephen Drew SS – Apr 5: 7-Day DL
- Franklin Morales RP – Apr 5: 15-Day DL
- David Ortiz DH – Apr 3: 15-Day DL
- Dustin Pedroia 2B – Apr 1: Day-To-Day
Toronto Blue Jays:
- Brett Lawrie 3B – Apr. 1: 15-Day DL (retroactive to Mar. 22)
- Jose Bautista RF – Apr 5: Day-To-Day
STATS & STREAKS
Boston Red Sox:
- The Red Sox arrive in Toronto having yet to hit a home run this season.
- Mike Napoli is off to a slow start in Boston with 2 hits in his first 14 at bats.
Toronto Blue Jays:
- Josh Johnson went 5-0 with a 2.70 ERA in spring training
- Johnson is 8-3 with a 2.95 ERA in 17 starts against American League opponents
- Melky Cabrera has 997 career hits coming into the series
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Jose Bautista will not be in the Blue Jays lineup on Friday after twisting his ankle in Thursday night’s game… The Blue Jays are expecting 42,000 fans for Friday night’s game… John Farrell’s record as the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays was 154-170… With lefty Felix Doubront on the mound on Friday Jays manager has opted to sit Adam Lind in favour of Mark DeRosa. Lind has yet to record a hit in 11 at bats.
BATTER VS. PITCHER MATCHUPS
Blue Jays vs. Felix Doubront
| BATTER | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwin Encarnacion R | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | .556 | .583 | 1.000 | 1.583 |
| Jose Reyes S | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.500 |
| Colby Rasmus L | 11 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .364 | .364 | 1.000 | 1.364 |
| Maicer Izturis S | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1.000 | .000 | 1.000 |
| Brett Lawrie R | 13 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .385 | .385 | .538 | .923 |
| Jose Bautista R | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .667 | .833 |
| J.P. Arencibia R | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .143 | .250 | .571 | .821 |
| Rajai Davis R | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .100 | .100 | .100 | .200 |
| Adam Lind L | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 | .143 | .000 | .143 |
Red Sox vs. Josh Johnson
| BATTER | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dustin Pedroia R | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.667 | 1.000 | 1.667 |
| David Ross R | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.500 | 0.333 | 0.833 |
| David Ortiz L | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.167 | 0.167 | 0.667 | 0.833 |
| Shane Victorino S | 38 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0.316 | 0.350 | 0.368 | 0.718 |
| Jonny Gomes R | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.500 |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia S | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Blue Jays vs. John Lackey
| BATTER | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark DeRosa R | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.556 | 1.000 | 1.556 |
| Adam Lind L | 26 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.538 | 0.538 | 0.769 | 1.308 |
| Jose Bautista R | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0.238 | 0.429 | 0.524 | 0.952 |
| Rajai Davis R | 26 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 0.385 | 0.385 | 0.538 | 0.923 |
| Edwin Encarnacion R | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.294 | 0.368 | 0.471 | 0.839 |
| Melky Cabrera S | 29 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0.345 | 0.367 | 0.448 | 0.815 |
| Jose Reyes S | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.500 |
| Maicer Izturis S | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.111 | 0.200 | 0.222 | 0.422 |
| Brett Lawrie R | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.333 | 0.000 | 0.333 |
| Henry Blanco R | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.167 | 0.167 | 0.167 | 0.333 |
| J.P. Arencibia R | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.143 | 0.000 | 0.143 |
Red Sox vs. J.A. Happ
| BATTER | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dustin Pedroia R | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.333 | 2.333 |
| Shane Victorino S | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.667 | 0.500 | 1.167 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury L | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.333 | 0.375 | 0.500 | 0.875 |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia S | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.333 | 0.000 | 0.333 |
| David Ortiz L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.333 | 0.000 | 0.333 |
| Jonny Gomes R | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.273 | 0.000 | 0.273 |
| Pedro Ciriaco R | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Blue Jays vs. Jon Lester
| BATTER | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark DeRosa R | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 1 | 1.333 |
| Rajai Davis R | 21 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 0.238 | 0.304 | 0.619 | 0.923 |
| Maicer Izturis S | 15 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.375 | 0.533 | 0.908 |
| Jose Bautista R | 45 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0.222 | 0.288 | 0.533 | 0.822 |
| Melky Cabrera S | 24 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0.375 | 0.4 | 0.417 | 0.817 |
| Edwin Encarnacion R | 21 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0.19 | 0.32 | 0.429 | 0.749 |
| Brett Lawrie R | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.143 | 0.25 | 0.429 | 0.679 |
| J.P. Arencibia R | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0.192 | 0.25 | 0.423 | 0.673 |
| Colby Rasmus L | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.222 | 0.222 | 0.222 | 0.444 |
| Adam Lind L | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0.111 | 0.143 | 0.148 | 0.291 |
| Jose Reyes S | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anthony Gose L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emilio Bonifacio S | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Red Sox vs. R.A. Dickey
| BATTER | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pedro Ciriaco R | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 3.000 | 4.000 |
| Brock Holt L | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
| Mike Napoli R | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.400 | 0.500 | 0.600 | 1.100 |
| Shane Victorino S | 19 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0.263 | 0.300 | 0.526 | 0.826 |
| David Ortiz L | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.250 | 0.400 | 0.375 | 0.775 |
| Dustin Pedroia R | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.200 | 0.333 | 0.200 | 0.533 |
| David Ross R | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.200 | 0.200 | 0.200 | 0.400 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury L | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.167 | 0.167 | 0.167 | 0.333 |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia S | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | |
| Jonny Gomes R | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
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