The Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox opened a three-game series Tuesday at Fenway Park with right-hander Dylan Cease tapped to start for Toronto and left-hander Payton Tolle getting the ball for Boston in Game 70.
Both clubs were off Monday before the series opener. Toronto’s lineup for the game listed George Springer leading off followed by Ernie Clement, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk, Kazuma Okamoto, Joey Lukes, Davis Schneider, Andrés Giménez and Myles Straw.
Boston countered with Masataka Yoshida atop its order, followed by Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, Jarren Duran, Caleb Durbin, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Marcelo Mayer and Connor Wong.
Payton Tolle arrived at Fenway coming off a start against the Rays in which he allowed season highs of four runs and nine hits while striking out three over six innings. In his career against Toronto, Tolle is 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA in two games, including one start.
The Red Sox offense carried some momentum into the series: Boston had homered in four straight games, totaling nine homers during that stretch, and catcher Willson Contreras had reached base safely in 23 of his last 24 games.
That backdrop carries a complication. Boston had won its first two games against the Rangers at Fenway but then dropped a 6-4 decision Sunday night, and the club entered Tuesday with a 29-40 record. The recent power surge and a home-field bounce clash with a team still trying to right its season.
Toronto, meanwhile, came into the matchup after being off Monday and after losing a home series to the Yankees — the Jays split the first two games but fell 8-3 in the finale. Dylan Cease’s start against a Boston lineup riding a burst of homers drew attention from fans tracking which club could seize the three-game set.
The Blue Jays and Red Sox starters set the tone for the first game, but the series schedule hands Boston two more rotation matchups to follow: Jake Bennett was scheduled to start Wednesday, and Sonny Gray was lined up for the Thursday matinee. Those assignments leave the resolution of the three-game series to the pitching staff after Tuesday’s announced matchup.
