Game 33: Blue Jays at Red Sox

After getting swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays it didn’t feel like the Red Sox would have a chance to sweep an AL East opponent.

Kevin Gausman is not a favorite around these parts. In 2022 her held the Sox, collectively, to a .267/.274/.359 slash line. And it gets worse. He posted a K/BB of 47/2. Two. Two walks against 47 strikeouts. Gausman feasted on Boston hitters. The southpaw is coming off back-to-back 7 inning, zero run, double digit strikeout games against the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners. He’s given up 10 runs on the season - and 7 were in one start. Three were in another stare,. That leaves four starts where he gave up zero runs.

If Kevin Gausman is the Darth Vader tonight then Brayan Bello is Luke Skywalker. Nurtured by pitching/Jedi master Pedro Martinez/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Bello has only just taken his first step into a larger world. His first start against the Angels was bad but that’s coming off an injury and disrupted Spring Training. His second start against the Milwaukee Brewers was...better but not great. 4.2 innings, 3 runs, 5 hits, 3 Ks, 2 BBs is nothing to write home about. His third start is where we hopefully look back in the weeks and months and say “ah yes that’s when it started.”

Five innings of 1-run ball with 6 Ks, 2 BBs, and 5 hits. In his most recent start against Cleveland, Bello maxed out at 84 pitches. With the injury to Kutter Crawford, Josh Winckowski pitching on both Monday and Tuesday, and Kenley Jansen nursing a tight back, Alex Cora would probably like to see Bello work his way into the sixth inning or beyond if possible.

Over his 13-game hitting streak, Masataka Yoshida has raised his batting average from .193 to .303.

Jarren Duran is fourth in the AL with 10 doubles on the season behind Matt Chapman (15), Wander Franco (12) and Vinnie Pasquantino. However, Duran has only 63 plate appearances rather than about 130.

First pitch is at 6:10 PM on WEEI and NESN. May the Force be with you.