Red Sox vs. Blue Jays lineups: Buchholz tries to break the pattern

The Red Sox will have Clay Buchholz on the mound Monday night as they start their third straight series against AL East competition, taking on the Blue Jays in Toronto.

The last time the Red Sox won--or lost, for that matter--consecutive games was all the way back on June 18 and 19, when they defeated the Braves 5-2 and Royals 7-3. They followed that win over Kansas City with a 4-7 loss, and since then every loss has been followed by a win and every win by a loss as the Sox bounce back and forth between nine and ten games under .500.

Tonight seems about as good a chance to break that streak as they'll get, at least coming at it from a winning perspective. They have their best arm on the mound, after all, up against R.A. Dickey who sports a 4.88 ERA. But on the other hand, Buchholz has to face down a Toronto lineup that has scored 420 runs--the most of any team in the game, and by a full 57 runs at that. In many ways, the Blue Jays are the team the Red Sox are supposed to be.

Hopefully that won't spell too much trouble for Clay Buchholz. While it's uncertain whether or not the Red Sox are even interested in selling what is likely the most valuable trade chip (ignoring the unrealistic names like Mookie Betts), they'd certainly like to see him retain or even boost what value he has over the next month.

First pitch is at 7:07 p.m. ET with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.