Red Sox (2-9) vs. Blue Jays (6-6)
Series schedule
Friday, 7:10 p.m. on NESN
Saturday, 1:10 p.m. on NESN
Sunday, 1:35 p.m. on NESN
Starting pitchers
Friday: Clay Buchholz (0-2, 7.20) vs. Brett Cecil (0-1, 7.20)
Saturday: Josh Beckett (1-1, 2.08) vs. Jo-Jo Reyes (0-1, 5.23)
Sunday: Jon Lester (0-1, 3.72) vs. Jesse Litsch (1-0, 2.38)
Previous games
The Red Sox lost both games against the Rays in a rain-shortened series this week. Their last game was Tuesday, a 3-2 defeat in which David Price outpitched Jon Lester in a battle of Cy Young favorites. Jed Lowrie had two hits and an RBI in a losing effort.
The Blue Jays lost their first two games against the Mariners this week before winning Wednesday's series finale, 8-3. Jose Bautista hit a three-run homer and Yunel Escobar and Jose Molina had three hits apiece for Toronto.
Head-to-head
The Red Sox went 12-6 against the Blue Jays last season. This is the first meeting between the AL East rivals this year.
Who's hot?
Reliever Bobby Jenks has yet to allow a hit or a run in four appearances (spanning four innings) this season. Lowrie is 6-for-9 in his last three games. Dustin Pedroia has scored a run in five straight games, going 10-for-19 during that span.
Storylines
Obviously the Red Sox are still looking to get their season on track. From their starting pitching to their relievers to their offense, no area of the team is without blame to this point. This will be the first game for Blue Jays manager John Farrell against the team for which he worked as pitching coach the last four seasons.