The Toronto Blue Jays currently have the best offense in the major leagues as they continue to blow games wide open at the plate. That was no different in the series opener against the Boston Red Sox where the team pulled off a big rally to earn the win. Now RA Dickey will look to keep momentum high as the two teams face off again on Saturday.
On Friday, heading into the fifth inning, the Blue Jays trailed 8-1. However, Toronto managed to get three runs in the fifth and nine in the seventh for a 13-10 win which extended their win streak to nine games, the longest in two years. Justin Smoak went 5 for 9 while Josh Donaldson knocked in three hits while being 11 for 23 in his last five games. They handed the Boston Red Sox their fourth straight loss and look to make it fifth as they prepare for Saturday.
The Blue Jays will need offense if they intend to make up for the recent road struggles of Dickey. In five road starts, the pitcher has gone 0-4 with a 6.52 ERA. In the month of May he was 1-2 with a 7.92 ERA. His last start showed improvement as he gave up just two runs in five innings. The Blue Jays batting lineup has made up for that as they have averaged 5.5 runs per game while batting .307 during their win streak. They also have 15 home runs during the time.
The Red Sox will try and counter the hot lineup with Clay Buchholz who is 3-6 with a 4.07 ERA. He has been struggling lately going 1-2 with a 1.47 ERA while getting just four runs of support over a four-stretch span. He recently gave up four runs in four innings against Oakland. He has seen his share of Toronto in his career, being 12-9 with a 3.42 ERA in 26 career games.
The Red Sox currently rank last in the American League East. They showed signs of life on Friday when Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia and Pablo Sandoval all knocked out home runs on Friday while still recording the loss.
