Heading into this matchup, the Blue Jays and Red Sox have already met up for 5 games, with Toronto picking up 4 wins. Despite the lopsided record, the average scoring differential for the winning team is just 2 runs, showing this has been a more competitive series than the record suggests. However, i see the Blue Jays picking up an easy win in this game, as Toronto has crushed right-handed pitching. So far, the team is ranked 5th in runs per at bat with right-handers on the mound. On the other side, i expect the Red Sox to struggle against Alek Manoah, who has been excellent to start the year. Look for the Blue Jays to pick up the win. In terms of slugging percentage, the team also sits in the bottom half of the league with a SLG% of just 0.346 (27th). The team's offensive struggles can partly be attributed to their inability to get on base, as they rank 28th with an OBP of 0.274. If they are going to improve upon this number, they would benefit from increasing their walk numbers as they rank 30th in the league with a BB percentage of just 6.1%%. A major reason for Alek Manoah's high FIP is his tendency to give up the long ball, averaging 1.0 homers per 9 innings pitched, including a home run to fly ball ratio of 10.0. On the season, Alek Manoah has had no problem racking up strikeouts, posting a strikeout percentage of 25.0%, while averaging 6.0 K's per game. However, he has had problems with command, averaging 2.0 walks per outing.
Heading into this matchup, the Blue Jays and Red Sox have already met up for 5 games, with Toronto picking up 4 wins. Despite the lopsided record, the average scoring differential for the winning team is just 2 runs, showing this has been a more competitive series than the record suggests. However, i see the Blue Jays picking up an easy win in this game, as Toronto has crushed right-handed pitching. So far, the team is ranked 5th in runs per at bat with right-handers on the mound. On the other side, i expect the Red Sox to struggle against Alek Manoah, who has been excellent to start the year. Look for the Blue Jays to pick up the win. In terms of slugging percentage, the team also sits in the bottom half of the league with a SLG% of just 0.346 (27th). The team's offensive struggles can partly be attributed to their inability to get on base, as they rank 28th with an OBP of 0.274. If they are going to improve upon this number, they would benefit from increasing their walk numbers as they rank 30th in the league with a BB percentage of just 6.1%%. A major reason for Alek Manoah's high FIP is his tendency to give up the long ball, averaging 1.0 homers per 9 innings pitched, including a home run to fly ball ratio of 10.0. On the season, Alek Manoah has had no problem racking up strikeouts, posting a strikeout percentage of 25.0%, while averaging 6.0 K's per game. However, he has had problems with command, averaging 2.0 walks per outing.