Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays: Preview, Odds, and Prediction | April 19th, 2022

Boston Red Sox collide with rival Blue Jays. Can the Red Sox rebound in Fenway?

Tonight, the Boston Red Sox will square off against division rival Toronto Blue Jays in the most historic ballpark in the MLB. The Boston Red Sox have had a sluggish start to their season as they find themselves at 5-5 through 10 games and come into this game off a demoralizing loss to the Twins. The Toronto Blue Jays have had similar inconsistent play to begin their campaign, clinging to a 6-4 record. Both of these teams were projected to have two of the best offensive statistics, but both offenses seem to be hit or miss. Tonight, Nathan Eovaldi will start for the Red Sox and Yusei Kikuchi for the Jays.

Boston Red Sox Preview

Although the offense has been a bit shaky to start, the Red Sox have had success against left-handed pitching, which they will see from Kikuchi tonight. Yusei Kikuchi has been hit around the ballpark to start the year as he has a WHIP (walks/hits per inning pitched) above two. This means that he's allowing more than two baserunners per every three outs he records on average, which is less than ideal for the Blue Jays. The Red Sox have some great talent in their lineup with Kike Hernandez, Rafeal Devers, J.D. Martinez, and Trevor Story. These guys lead the way for the Red Sox. The matchup with Kikuchi today is perfect for this lineup. Nathan Eovaldi will get his first home start of 2022 tonight for the Red Sox, where he historically pitches much better than at other ballparks. Eovaldi had a very respectable 3.4 ERA last season at Fenway Park, which is impressive considering that it is a hitter-friendly field.

Toronto Blue Jays Preview

The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off of a home series win against the A's. The Blue Jays have some incredible talent on their roster in Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Bo Bichette, Matt Chapman, and George Springer. The Blue Jays offense hasn't been what a lot of baseball fans expected. Outside of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the power numbers just haven't been up to par with the team last season. Toronto has four daily starters in their lineup who have more strikeouts than they do hits on the season, which are Guerrero, Bichette, Springer, and Chapman. To have the four best hitters in the lineup striking out at that rate is alarming. There are many ways to be productive in an MLB game without getting a hit, but striking out isn't one of them. The talent they have is not up for debate, but the execution from their lineup lately has opened the door for some criticism.

Prediction/Pick

Boston Red Sox F5 -0.5 (-105)

In his only start against the Blue Jays at home last season, Eovaldi gave up no runs through six innings of work. With the Blue Jays playing down to their competition last series against the A's, let's ride with the home team to lead after five innings. Let's go Red Sox!