The surging Toronto Blue Jays wrap up their three-game series with the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night in Boston. The Jays are back on top of the AL Wildcard standings and have even trimmed their deficit in the AL East to single digits behind the Yankees. The Red Sox are all but out of the playoff picture and will soon be preparing for a busy offseason in Beantown. The pitching matchup on Thursday night will feature a pair of right-handers as Kevin Gausman (9-9, 2.99) of the Blue Jays takes on Kutter Crawford (3-5, 5.14) of the Red Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm EST.
The Blue Jays have surged back into the heart of the AL playoff picture as the team continues this current road trip. Since former bench coach John Schneider took over as manager following the firing of Charlie Montoyo, the Blue Jays have gone 20-13. After taking three of four from the Yankees over the weekend, the Blue Jays came into Fenway Park and continued their winning ways in Boston on Tuesday night. The Blue Jays used an eight-run 3rd inning to cruise to a 9-3 win in the first game. On Wednesday night, Toronto squeaked by the Red Sox 3-2 in 10-innings. George Springer, who was 3-for-5 on the night, doubled home the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning for the final margin of victory.
Sounds of Spring ?? #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/4mTurhHLI2
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 24, 2022
Schneider has brought both stability to the everyday lineup and the bullpen as he has clarified the roles of all the players on the team. Since he took over as manager, the team ERA has been a solid 3.24 as players laud Schneider for simplifying and clarifying bullpen roles. At the plate, the Blue Jays are hitting .271 since he took over and developed a consistent platoon system around his everyday players. On the mound on Thursday night will be Kevin Gausman. Gausman leads the team in strikeouts and is second in wins, ERA, quality starts and WAR. In his last five starts, Gausman is 2-2 in his last five starts with an ERA of 2.97. He has allowed 28 hits in 30.1 innings pitched and is striking out 9.79 batters per nine innings in this span. Against Boston this season, Gausman has been dominant. He is 3-0 in four starts with an ERA of 1.38.