Red Sox-Blue Jays Preview
The Toronto Blue Jays anticipate Aaron Sanchez anchoring a spot in their rotation for many years to come. That means at some point the youngster will have to generate the arm strength to handle the grind of a full season. That won't be this year with the Blue Jays being cautious, giving him an extra day of rest leading up to Friday night's series opener with the visiting Boston Red Sox. Sanchez (4-1, 3.20 ERA) hasn't pitched since giving up two runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings of last Friday's 9-3 win over Minnesota. He originally was scheduled to start Thursday against the New York Yankees, but he's on an unspecified innings limit this season and was pushed back a day for rest. The plan heading into this year was to have the 23-year-old begin as a starter before eventually moving to the bullpen, and that still appears to be the case. Sanchez has never thrown more than 133 1/3 innings at any stop in his professional career. "Give Sanchy an extra day," manager John Gibbons told MLB's official website. "(We've been) looking to do that. Boston is predominantly right-handed, and (the Yankees) are lefty and switch, but the primary reason is to give him an extra day when we can." Pushing the right-hander back to face the Red Sox seems like a wise move for other reasons as well. Sanchez allowed one run and two hits in seven innings to win 5-3 at Fenway Park on April 17 and is 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA in three starts and eight relief appearances against Boston. He'll be getting the nod in the opener after Toronto (24-25) took two of three from the Yankees with Thursday's 3-1 victory. Edwin Encarnacion and Devon Travis drove in runs to help offset the absence of Troy Tulowitzki for the second straight game. Tulowitzki is battling a sore right quad, leaving his status unclear as the Blue Jays prepare to face a rejuvenated Joe Kelly. Kelly (2-0, 5.28) pitched no-hit ball for 6 2/3 innings to beat Cleveland 9-1 on Saturday. He had been on the disabled list with a right shoulder impingement since April 20 but threw 104 pitches in a stellar performance. Juan Uribe broke up the no-hit bid with a double to the right-center gap in the seventh, and manager John Farrell decided to lift Kelly immediately. ''I saw my pitch count climbing up. I'm not stupid,'' Kelly said. ''I tried to get first-pitch outs because I knew I wasn't going to be out there much longer. I threw a fastball down the middle." The right-hander wasn't nearly as good against the Blue Jays in his first start of the season April 8. Kelly allowed seven runs and seven hits while walking three in just three innings before the Red Sox rallied for an 8-7 win. Boston (29-18) jumped ahead of Colorado on David Ortiz's two-run homer in the first inning Thursday, but mustered only five more hits the rest of the way in an 8-2 defeat. The Red Sox had their four-game winning streak snapped, and Jackie Bradley Jr.'s 29-game hitting streak also came to an end when the final out was recorded with him on deck. Xander Bogaerts' 19-game run now is the longest streak in the majors. |