TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays blasted a season-high-tying five home runs en route to a 7-3 win over the Red Sox in Boston last night…Also hit five homers in their Home Opener on April 11 vs. DET…Earned their first win against the Red Sox this season (now 1-7)…Improved to 19-17 in series openers. Toronto has won seven of its last 12 games, 16 of its last 26, and is 35-25 over its last 60 contests… Its .583 win% over that span (since May 26) is tied with Baltimore for the highest mark in the AL…Is currently holding the 3rd Wild Card spot, 2.0 games back of Houston (63-48) for the 2nd spot, and 2.5 games up on Seattle.
DAVIS DEBUT DINGER: Davis Schneider was selected to the Major League roster for the first time in his career yesterday afternoon, and promptly hit a solo home run over the Green Monster in his first big league at-bat in the 2nd inning…Became the 4th player in franchise history to homer in his first career at-bat, and the first since J.P. Arencibia on Aug. 7, 2010 vs. TB. The 24-year-old also legged out an infield single in the 7th inning, finishing the game 2-for-5…Became the 20th player in team history to record a multi-hit effort in his first career MLB game (last: Danny Jansen on Aug. 13, 2018 at KC).
CAN’T STOP WHITTING: Whit Merrifield smashed the first pitch of Friday’s game over the Green Monster for his 10th home run of the season…Was his 14th career leadoff homer and his first in a Blue Jays uniform…Became the 11th Blue Jay since 1988 to homer on the first pitch of a game (last: George Springer on July 10, 2022 at SEA)…Reached double-digit homers for the 6th time in his career…Also picked up a single in the 2nd inning, finishing the game 2-for-5, his 31st multi-hit effort of the season. The three-time All-Star has reached base safely in 24 of his last 25 contests with a plate appearance while hitting .350 (36-for-103) with three doubles, eight home runs, and 21 RBI for a .979 OPS with 13 multihit efforts…Is now batting .300 on the season, good for 6th among AL hitters (10th in MLB), while his 21 stolen bases are 10th most.
VLAD TO THE BONE: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. smashed a solo homer in the 1st inning last night, his team-leading 18th blast of the season…Also doubled home a run in the 6th, going 2-for-5 on the night with a pair of RBI…Was his 30th multi-hit game of the season…His 69 RBI are currently 11th most in the AL…Has recorded an AL-leading 192 hard-hit balls (95+ MPH) this season, while his 55.3 hard-hit percentage ranks 5th.
WELCOME TO THE VAR-SHO: Daulton Varsho blasted a solo shot of his own in the 6th inning on Friday, his 13th of the year and his first since June 17 at TEX, snapping a skid of 35 straight homerless games (min. 1 PA)…Went 2-for-3 with a walk for his 19th multi-hit game of the year. The outfielder has batted .251 (51-for-203) on the road this season, notching 10 doubles, 10 home runs, and 29 RBI…His .753 road OPS is 248 points better than his home OPS this year (.505).
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Blue Jays are on a seven-game, seven-day road trip (1-0 so far)…Own a 31-26 road record this season for a .544 win%, 3rd best in the AL…Have won 11 of their last 15 road games, the best road record in the Majors since June 20th (.733)…After this weekend trio of games in Boston, will head to Cleveland (54-56) for a four-game set starting on Monday. Blue Jays hitters rank 2nd among AL clubs in road AVG (.263), 2nd in road OBP (.330), 3rd in road SLG (.431), and 3rd in road OPS (.761)…The pitching staff ranks 8th in the AL in road ERA (4.20), 10th in road WHIP (1.33), and 13th in road opponents’ AVG (.257).
BAT CHAPMAN: Matt Chapman went 2-for-4 on Friday night, recording his 34th double and his 15th home run of the season… Marked his 24th multi-hit game of the year and his 10th game with multiple extra-base hits. The third baseman ranks 2nd in MLB with a 59.5 hard-hit percentage (1st: Aaron Judge – 63.6), 7th in average exit velocity (94.0 MPH), and 13th in hard-hit balls (160)…Leads the AL with 34 doubles, trailing only Freddie Freeman (40) for the MLB lead…Has 50 extra-base hits, 4th most among AL hitters, while his 54 walks are 7th most.
PITCHING IN: Toronto pitchers have combined for a 3.82 ERA this season, 3rd among AL teams (5th in MLB)…Are 2nd in MLB with 1,056 strikeouts (MIN – 1,063)…Rank 8th in the AL in opponents’ average (.243) and T-7th in WHIP (1.27)…The rotation has 52 quality starts, T-3rd most in the AL (T-4th in MLB).
HITTING IT: Toronto batters have notched 987 hits this season, 3rd most in MLB…Are currently 3rd in the AL in team AVG (.259), 4th in OBP (.329), 5th in OPS (.748), 6th in SLG (.419), and 7th in extra-base hits (337).
DIVISIONAL DOWNTURN: The Blue Jays have now gone 9-23 against divisional opponents this season (5th among AL East clubs), the 3rd fewest intra-division wins in MLB (OAK – 5, COL – 7)…The .281 divisional win% is currently the lowest in team history (.282 in 1979)…Went 43-33 (.566%) in divisional play in 2022, the 2nd-best winning percentage within the division and the club’s best since registering a .581 win% in 2006 (43-31)
VS. THE RED SOX: All-Time: 321-389
2023: 1-7 Road: 167-192
Road: 1-4 Fenway Park: 167-192
The Blue Jays are 1-7 vs. Boston so far this season… Were swept in their three-game series at Rogers Centre over Canada Day, and swept in a four-gamer in Boston in May…Snapped their seven-game losing skid to the Red Sox on Friday, tied for their 2ndlongest such streak in team history (11G from April 16-July 11, 2002).
Daulton Varsho has gone 10-for-27 (.370) in eight career games vs. BOS, all coming this season…Has notched a double, three homers, and six RBI (1.160 OPS), as well as four multi-hit games in Beantown.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has a .980 OPS against the Red Sox this season, batting .294 (10-for-34) with three doubles, three homers, and eight RBI…In 70 career games vs. BOS, has gone 78-for-274 (.285) with 19 doubles, 14 homers, and 59 RBI (.873 OPS).
Whit Merrifield has batted .362 (55-for-152) in 38 career meetings with the BoSox, the highest mark among active players in the Majors (min. 150 PA)… Has recorded 13 doubles, five homers, and 18 RBI over that stretch for a .939 OPS.
STARTING PITCHER – José Berríos, RHP #17
TODAY’S GAME: Making his 23rd start of the season and his 13th on the road…Tossed 6.0 frames of one-run ball his last time out, on 7/30 vs. LAA, scattering 6 hits and a pair of walks with 6 strikeouts. Posted a 1.84 ERA over 5 starts in the month of July, his lowest ERA of any month in his career, min. 2 starts (2nd: 2.06 ERA in June 2019). Over his last 20 starts, has gone 8-5 with a 2.69 ERA (36 ER/120.2 IP), 111 strikeouts, and a 1.14 WHIP…His ERA over that span (since 4/14) trails only Nathan Eovaldi (2.17) for the best mark among AL pitchers.
2023 HIGHLIGHTS: Allowed 2 runs over 5.0 innings on 7/24 at LAD, giving up 5 hits and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts…Was his 200th career MLB start. Took the loss on 7/19 vs. SD, tossing 6.0 frames of two-run ball with 4 hits, 4 walks, and a season-high-tying 9 strikeouts…Threw a season-high 106 pitches (66 strikes)…Was his 11th quality start of the year. Gave up one run over 5.1 innings on 7/14 vs. ARI, scattering 7 hits and a walk with 4 strikeouts. Took a no-decision on 7/6 at CWS(1), throwing 7.0 scoreless innings with a hit, a walk, and 6 strikeouts…Gave up just 1 hit over 7.0 frames for the 2nd time in his career, also doing so exactly 2 years prior against the same team as a member of the Twins (7/6/21 vs. CWS). Picked up his 8th win of the year on 6/24 vs. OAK, giving up 3R/2ER over 6.0 innings (6H, 2BB, 8K). Improved to 7-4 on the year on 6/14 at BAL, taking a no-hitter into the 7th inning before allowing a leadoff single to Adley Rutschman…Marked the longest no-hit bid by a Blue Jay since Ross Stripling also tossed 6.0 hitless innings on 8/17/22 vs. BAL…Finished the game with a seasonhigh 7.2 innings of shutout ball (3H, BB, HBP, 5K)…Improved to a perfect 10-0 lifetime against the O’s (13 starts), joining Jon Lester (14-0) and Red Faber (12-0) as the only pitchers in MLB history to win each of his first 10 career decisions against Orioles/Browns franchise. Won his 6th game of the year on 6/8 vs. HOU, tossing 6.0 innings of 2-run ball (4H, 2BB, 2K)…Marked his 7th quality start of the season. Pitched 5.2 frames of shutout ball on 5/28 at MIN (4H, 5BB, 5K)…Became the winningest pitcher in Target Field history, earning his 33rd career victory to break a tie with Kyle Gibson (32). Worked 7.0 shutout frames on 4/25 vs. CWS, scattering 4 singles and a walk with a season-high 9 strikeouts…Completed 7.0 innings in consecutive starts for the 13th time in his career (last: 3G from 6/4- 15/22)…Has allowed 3 runs over his last 3 starts, posting a 1.42 ERA (3 ER/19.0 IP) with a pair of walks and 18 punchouts.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS: Drafted in the 1st round (32nd overall) by the Twins in 2012. Pitched for Team Puerto Rico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, going 1-0, 8.10 ERA (6.2 IP, 6 ER) with two walks and 10 strikeouts. Named to 2018 and 2019 AL All-Star teams, pitching 1.0 inning in both games. Acquired by Toronto from Minnesota on 7/30/21 in exchange for INF Austin Martin and RHP Simeon Woods Richardson. In 2021, set a career high with 204 strikeouts, good for 5th in the AL…His 3.52 ERA was 5th best in the AL while his 192.0 innings pitched ranked 2nd.
VS. THE RED SOX: Facing the Red Sox for the 3rd time this season and the 13th time in his career…Gave up 4 runs over 6.0 frames on 6/30 at Rogers Centre and 5 runs over 5.1 innings in his last visit to Fenway on 5/1…Over 12 career starts vs. BOS, has gone 1-6 with a 4.31 ERA (34 ER/71.0 IP) and 74 strikeouts.
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox have lost 5 of their last 6 games…They’re 6-5 in their last 11 and 8-8 in their last 16. The Sox own the AL’s 2nd-best record since 6/14 (24-17, .585), behind BAL (26-18, .591). At 57-52 (.523), Boston is tied with MIA for MLB’s 13th-best record.
BACK TO THE GRIND: Last night, the Red Sox began a season-long 10-game homestand (3 vs. TOR, 4 vs. KC, 3 vs. DET). The Red Sox are currently in a stretch of 32 games in 34 days, from 7/28-8/30…They will only have 1 day off (8/14) in a 27-day span from 8/4-30. After their off day on 8/14, the Sox will play a game on 16 consecutive days from 8/15-30. SOX & JAYS: The Red Sox entered last night 7-0 vs. TOR this season, their longest winning streak against the Jays since 2002 (11 games, 4/16-7/11/02)…They’ve outscored TOR, 52-36. The Sox swept the Blue Jays in a 4-game series at Fenway Park from 5/1-4 and a 3-game series at Rogers Centre from 6/30-7/2. In 2022, the Red Sox went 3-16 vs. TOR…They entered this season on a 9-game losing streak vs. TOR.
EASTERN STANDARD: Boston is 16-12 vs. the AL East this season…They are 5-3 in series play vs. the AL East, winning 4 of their last 5 series within the division since 5/1. Last night snapped a streak of 23 consecutive games against opponents outside the division (7/4-8/2). Boston played just 2 games vs. AL East teams in July but will play 6 in August (3 vs. TOR, 3 vs. NYY) and 19 in September (7 vs. BAL, 5 vs. TB, 4 vs. NYY, 3 vs. TOR).
SERIES BUSINESS: With a loss today or tomorrow, the Red Sox would lose their 3rd consecutive series and fall to to 19-15-2 in series play, including 11-7-0 at home.
They are 6-3-0 in their last 9 series, beginning 6/30. TOUGH TEST: The Red Sox are 4-5 so far in a stretch of 11 straight games against teams who currently have a inning record (2-0 vs. ATL, 1-2 at SF, 1-2 at SEA, 0-1 vs. TOR). BOS is 41-35 (.539) this season against teams currently at or above .500, the 4th-best record in MLB (ATL-.636, BAL-.568, SF-.557) and 3rd most wins (BAL-46, ATL-42). After this series vs. TOR, the Sox’ next 3 opponents (KC, DET, WSH) own a combined record of 131-199 (.397).
HIGH FIVE: The Sox are an AL-best 46-7 (.868) when scoring 5+ runs, the 3rd-best record in MLB…They’ve scored fewer than 5 runs in 5 of their last 6 games. Boston is 37-8 (.822) when recording 10+ hits, having won each of their last 10 (beginning 7/5 vs. TEX)… They’ve had fewer than 10 hits in each of their last 8
games, after recording 10+ in 13 of their previous 18. ON THE MEND: Trevor Story and Chris Sale are on rehab assignments with Triple-A Worcester…Tanner Houck is scheduled to begin a rehab stint with the WooSox today vs. Buffalo at 4:05 p.m. Sale made his 1st rehab start Tuesday against Syracuse, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings (H, 2 BB, 3 SO, 40 pitches). Story has played in 11 games with Worcester and Double-A Portland, making 8 starts at SS and 3 as the DH .273 AVG, 9-for-33, 2 2B, 3 HR, 5 R, 7 RBI, 5 BB, HBP, SB).
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox lead MLB in doubles (239)… They rank 2nd in the AL in AVG (.263) and XBH (376), 3rd in OBP (.330), and 4th in SLG (.433) and OPS (.763).
In their last 27 games since 6/30, the Red Sox lead the AL in AVG (.276) and SLG (.474), and rank 2nd in OPS (.806). The Sox have hit 33 HR in their last 20 games since 7/8, 3rd most in the AL during that span (LAA-36, HOU-35).
HOME COOKING: The Red Sox have won 9 of their last 11 home games, outscoring opponents 68-40 in that span. In 12 home games since the start of July, the Sox have hit .308 with an .870 OPS (40 XBH: 21 2B, 3 3B, 16 HR). At home, the Sox lead the majors in AVG (.291) and OBP (.358)…They also rank 3rd in runs scored per
game (5.6), OPS (.828) and SLG (.470).
PITCHING IN: Boston ranked 27th in MLB with a 5.09 ERA at the end of play on 5/15, but ranks 2nd in the AL and 5th in the majors with a 3.79 ERA since then…Overall, the Sox rank 17th in the majors in ERA (4.29). During that stretch that began 5/16, the Red Sox’ ERA leaders are Chris Martin (1.54), Chris Murphy (1.59), and Brennan Bernardino (1.90) (min. 20.0 IP).
WHAT A RELIEF: In 15 games since 7/17, Sox relievers rank 2nd in MLB with a 2.70 ERA (23 ER/70.0 IP) and 77 SO. Boston ranks 9th in MLB with a 3.79 relief ERA
(184 ER/436.2 IP)…They ranked 14th in the AL and 26th in MLB last season with a 4.59 mark.
RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Sox rank 6rd in the AL and 12th in the majors in stolen base % (80.4, 78-for-97). The Sox’ top 3 leaders in steals are a combined 38-for-42 (90.5%): Jarren Duran (23-for-25), Masataka Yoshida (8-for-8), and Rob Refsnyder (7-for-9).
LOCK IT DOWN: The Red Sox own MLB’s best record when leading after 6 innings (43-3, .935)…In 2022, they ranked 18th in MLB when leading after 6 (63-10, .863).
Boston leads MLB in save % (77.5; 31-for-40). Since the start of July, Kenley Jansen ranks T-3rd in the AL with 8 saves…He ranks 5th overall with 24.
LATE SURGE: Boston has scored 234 runs in innings 6-9, 2nd most in the AL behind TEX (241)…BOS leads the AL and ranks T-2nd in MLB in hits during those innings (417; MIA-441).
COMEBACK KIDS: The Red Sox have 31 come-from-behind wins, tied for 2nd most in the AL and 3rd in MLB (BAL-35, CIN-35, LAA-31)…They’ve trailed in 3 of their last 4 wins.
TRISTON TIME: Triston Casas was named the AL Rookie of the Month for July, batting .348 with a 1.199 OPS during the month (23-for-66, 4 2B, 7 HR, 13 RBI, 11 BB). Prior to Casas, the only Red Sox player to post an OPS that high in any calendar month (min. 50 PA) before turning 24 was Ted Williams (8 times, 1939-42).
TODAY’S STARTER: 46 JOHN SCHREIBER – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 1-1 3.74 22 1 21.2 9 2 10 24 1.43 .266
CAREER 7-6 3.50 115 1 118.1 46 10 38 136 1.21 .239
Is making his 2nd start this season (also 7/25 vs. ATL). Was charged with the loss on Wednesday at SEA after allowing a career-high 4 runs in the 6th and 7th innings (1.0 IP, 3 H, BB, SO)…Had allowed 1 run in his previous 9 outings. With runners on base, has held opposing batters to a .196 AVG/.587 OPS (9-for-46, 14 SO). Has a 2.87 ERA in his last 39 outings dating back to 8/24/22 (12 ER/37.2 IP)…31 of those outings were scoreless. Has allowed 4 HR in 56.2 IP since the 2022 All-Star break (0.64 HR/9.0 IP). From 2022-23, has held righties to a .205 AVG/.565 OPS (38-for-186, 2 HR) and lefties to a .200 AVG/.661 OPS (21-for-105, 2 HR)
