Red Sox start 3-game series with the Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays (34-38, third in the AL East) vs. Boston Red Sox (29-40, fifth in the AL East)

Boston; Tuesday, 6:45 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Blue Jays: Dylan Cease (3-3, 2.91 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 103 strikeouts); Red Sox: Payton Tolle (3-3, 2.70 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 54 strikeouts)

LINE: Blue Jays -121, Red Sox -101; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox host the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday to open a three-game series.

Boston is 29-40 overall and 12-22 in home games. Red Sox pitchers have a collective 3.91 ERA, which ranks fifth in the AL.

Toronto has a 34-38 record overall and a 13-20 record in road games. The Blue Jays have a 12-6 record in games when they hit at least two home runs.

The matchup Tuesday is the fourth time these teams match up this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Willson Contreras leads the Red Sox with 16 home runs while slugging .570. Ceddanne Rafaela is 13 for 41 with three doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games.

Ernie Clement has a .304 batting average to lead the Blue Jays, and has 20 doubles, a triple and seven home runs. Kazuma Okamoto is 12 for 38 with two home runs and seven RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 4-6, .249 batting average, 4.40 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs

Blue Jays: 5-5, .285 batting average, 5.10 ERA, outscored by 10 runs

INJURIES: Red Sox: Nick Sogard: 10-Day IL (oblique), Mickey Gasper: day-to-day (groin), Jovani Moran: 15-Day IL (elbow), Garrett Crochet: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Trevor Story: 60-Day IL (abdomen), Kutter Crawford: 60-Day IL (wrist), Romy Gonzalez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Roman Anthony: 10-Day IL (wrist), Patrick Sandoval: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tanner Houck: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: day-to-day (back), Andres Gimenez: day-to-day (wrist), Daulton Varsho: 10-Day IL (wrist), Lazaro Estrada: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Lenyn Sosa: 10-Day IL (wrist), Joe Mantiply: 60-Day IL (knee), Addison Barger: 10-Day IL (elbow), Jose Berrios: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shane Bieber: 60-Day IL (elbow), Yimi Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cody Ponce: 60-Day IL (knee), Anthony Santander: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Bowden Francis: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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