Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox | Predictions, Preview, Odds & Free Pick | Sportsbookbuzz.com

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Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox
Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 1:35 PM EST on TBS

Money Line: Blue Jays +200 / Red Sox -230
Run Total: 8.5

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The Toronto Blue Jays wrap up a three-game weekend series against the AL East rival Boston Red Sox this Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park. Game time is set for 1:35 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally of TBS.

Toronto took the early lead in this series with a 7-6 victory on Friday night as a 166 road underdog with the total going ‘over’ the nine-run line. The Blue Jays used a four-run seventh inning rally and a shutdown performance by closer Jon Rauch in the ninth inning to secure the win. They are now 7-6 on the year and just a half a game behind New York in the division. The win also raised their road record to 3-4.

The Blue Jays have gotten a solid effort from the entire pitching staff so far with a 3.29 team ERA that is ranked fourth in the AL. For a team that is known for its hitting, Toronto has lived up to its image with a team batting average of .264 and 68 runs. Adam Lind and Travis Snider each have nine RBI and Juan Bautista has belted three home runs.

Jesse Litsch will be making his third start of the season for Toronto. He gave up six hits and three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings to get the decision against Oakland and followed it up by pitching five scoreless innings against Seattle his last time out. Litsch is 4-2 with a 3.83 ERA against Boston in his career.

This season has been one nightmare after another for Boston. It started the year with three straight losses to both Texas and Cleveland and has only managed to win twice since then to find itself already five games out of first with a record of 2-10. It is 0-6 on the road and 2-4 at home.

Everything has gone wrong for the Red Sox so far. Their pitchers have been torched for 79 runs are ranked dead-last in the AL with a team ERA of 6.79. Their normally reliable bats have also struggled with a .224 team hitting average and just 46 total runs. One of the few bright spots in the lineup has been DH David Ortiz, who leads the team with eight RBI and two home runs.

Left hander Jon Lester will be on the mound for Boston. He got lit up in the season opener against the Rangers; giving up six hits and five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work. Since then he has given up 10 hits and just three earned runs in 14 innings but is still looking for his first win this year. Lifetime against the Blue Jays, Lester is 7-4 with an ERA of 3.43.

Doug Eddings will be behind home plate for Sunday’s game which should favor the pitchers as 20 of the 30 games he called last season stayed ‘under’ the total.

Toronto is 3-3 this season as an underdog and seven of its 13 games have stayed ‘under’ the total. Boston is 1-9 as a favorite and seven of its 12 games have gone ‘over’ the total.

Prediction: Head-to-head, the Red Sox won 12 of 18 games last season overall but were just 5-4 at Fenway. The total went ‘over’ in 10 these games. This time around Boston should be a mild favorite with Lester on the mound. Stick with the Red Sox to close-out the series with a win as the this team is just too good to keep losing like they have.

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