Boston Red Sox

Jays' Sanchez looks for 2016 form against Red Sox (Jul 19, 2017)

Published Jul. 19, 2017 4:58 a.m. ET

BOSTON -- It is safe to say 2016 was a dream season for Aaron Sanchez, the young right-hander going 15-2 and winning the American League ERA title with a 3.00 mark.

That was last year.

The first half of this season was a nightmare for Sanchez, who was on the disabled list three times and was winless into the All-Star break.

But Sanchez, who faces the Boston Red Sox in the third game of a four-game series Wednesday night, looked like the 2016 Sanchez in winning his last time out -- his first victory of the season.

"I have to get back to where I was last year, and tonight was a good start for me," Sanchez said after allowing one run, which was unearned, in six innings to post a 7-2 win in Detroit on Friday.

On Wednesday night, with the series even at 1-1 after a pair of one-run games, he gets to face his favorite opponent and in a favorite place.

Sanchez (1-2, 3.94 ERA) has a four-game winning streak against the Red Sox, is 4-1 lifetime and hasn't lost to Boston since 2015. He is also 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA at Fenway Park.

His bid for a second consecutive win could run into a stumbling block in Drew Pomeranz, who has quietly pitched very well on a staff loaded with other stories -- like Chris Sale's Cy Young first half, David Price's and Eduardo Rodriguez's injuries (and Price's off-field media trouble) and Rick Porcello's fall from his Cy Young season.

Pomeranz, an All-Star for San Diego last year, is 9-4 with a 3.75 ERA. He has won his past three decisions and is 6-1 in his past seven. Pomeranz hasn't lost since June 4, and the Red Sox are 8-2 in his past 10 starts.

He is 1-1 with a 3.07 ERA lifetime against the Blue Jays in five games, three of them starts. Pomeranz was the recipient of his team scoring 15 runs in a rout of the Jays at Rogers Centre on July 2, when he tossed six innings of one-run ball.

Pomeranz and manager John Farrell had a dispute in the dugout when the manager pulled the pitcher after four innings May 20 in Oakland. Since then, Pomeranz is 6-1 with a 2.95 ERA in 10 starts.

For the Red Sox, the past four days have been ... well, busy. They have played 58 innings in five games. Hanley Ramirez's 15th-inning home run early Wednesday morning gave them a 2-3 record over that span.

Asked about what kind of effect the heavy workload can have on the players, Farrell said, "There's a lot of toll, and it's not just the number of innings pitched -- it's the hours on the feet by every guy that's manning his position. I can't even calculate right now. ... We're (58) innings since Saturday. ... That's unique, but (it's) to the credit of our guys, we're in tight games throughout, there's high stress to pitches, there's high stress to plays.

"They've done an outstanding job to go through this stretch of four days we've just come through."

Red Sox hitters have had little success against Sanchez, the current roster totaling .204 with two homers and 12 RBIs. Hanley Ramirez is 2-for-13 (.154), Dustin Pedroia 3-for-17 (.176), Xander Bogaerts (out Tuesday night with a hand injury) 4-for-22 (.182) and Brock Holt 1-for-7 (.143).

The current Jays don't have much history against Pomeranz, with Justin Smoak leading the way at 3-for-7 (.429). Josh Donaldson is 0-for-5, and both Darwin Barney and Kevin Pillar 1-for-7.