Houck expected to start for Boston against Toronto

Updated Jul. 28, 2021 3:20 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Toronto Blue Jays (49-47, fourth in the AL East) vs. Boston Red Sox (62-39, first in the AL East)

Boston; Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Blue Jays: Steven Matz (8-5, 4.35 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 89 strikeouts) Red Sox: Tanner Houck (0-2, 2.50 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 23 strikeouts)

LINE: Red Sox -135, Blue Jays +125; over/under is 11 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Boston and Toronto will meet on Wednesday.

The Red Sox are 32-20 in home games in 2020. The Boston offense has compiled a .257 batting average as a team this season, Xander Bogaerts leads the team with a mark of .309.

The Blue Jays are 27-25 in road games. Toronto hitters have posted a team on-base percentage of .325 this season, led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a mark of .419.

The Red Sox won the last meeting 5-4. Adam Ottavino notched his third victory and Alex Verdugo went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for Boston. Trevor Richards registered his first loss for Toronto.

TOP PERFORMERS: Rafael Devers leads the Red Sox with 55 extra base hits and is batting .284.

Bo Bichette leads the Blue Jays with 116 hits and is batting .296.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 7-3, .239 batting average, 3.72 ERA, outscored opponents by 12 runs

Blue Jays: 5-5, .264 batting average, 4.23 ERA, outscored opponents by 15 runs

INJURIES: Red Sox: Hirokazu Sawamura: (tricep), Chris Sale: (elbow), Eduardo Rodriguez: (migraine), Ryan Brasier: (calf), Eduard Bazardo: (lat), Matt Andriese: (hamstring), Danny Santana: (groin), Marwin Gonzalez: (hamstring), Christian Arroyo: (hamstring).

Blue Jays: Kirby Yates: (elbow), David Phelps: (right lat), Tommy Milone: (shoulder), Julian Merryweather: (oblique), Alek Manoah: (back), Carl Edwards Jr.: (abdominal), A.J. Cole: (neck), Tyler Chatwood: (neck), Anthony Castro: (ulnar nerve), Corey Dickerson: (foot), Danny Jansen: (hamstring).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.