The Red Sox hosted the Atlanta Braves over the weekend and suffered three losses to drop two games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East standings.
The good news for the Red Sox entering tonight's game is the fact that Pedro Martinez will be taking the mound. The last time he pitched, he helped Boston end a season-high four-game skid. In Sunday's loss to Atlanta, the BoSox wrapped up their interleague schedule with a 7-3 setback in a 10-inning affair.
Brian Daubach, Trot Nixon and Nomar Garciaparra each hit a solo homer, but Boston went just 5-13 versus the NL this year. At home, the Red Sox have lost four of their last five to slip to 18-19 as the host this year.
Pedro Martinez seeks his third straight win. (AP Photo)
Boston starter Frank Castillo permitted three runs on eight hits in six innings of work. Ugueth Urbina (0-3) suffered the loss for Boston, allowing three runs on three hits in 1 2/3 frames. The Braves outhit Boston 14-5.
Toronto comes into tonight's contest off its second straight win, a 7-5 victory over the Montreal Expos in what may be the last meeting between the Canadian rivals. Carlos Delgado ripped a two-run homer in the seventh inning to help Toronto post a 7-5 victory over Montreal in the clubs' final interleague action of 2002. Raul Mondesi ended 2-for-4 with an RBI, as Toronto won its second straight.
Vernon Wells had two singles and scored twice and Dave Berg homered for the Blue Jays, who salvaged the final two games against their Canadian foe this year (2-4).
Scott Eyre (2-3) earned the win after retiring three batters, while Kelvim Escobar collected his 14th save of the year with a perfect 1 1/3 innings of relief.
Martinez seeks his third straight win when he toes the rubber for the BoSox tonight. He has allowed four runs in his last two starts, a span of 15 innings. On Wednesday, he was tagged for four runs on five hits (three home runs) over seven innings in a 7-4 win against Cleveland. He has struck out 20 batters in his last two starts as well.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner has struggled against the Blue Jays this season, with no record in two starts. In his nine innings of work versus Toronto, he has been ripped for 11 earned runs. He last faced the Blue Jays on May 28 and surrendered four runs on seven hits through six frames in a 6-4 win at SkyDome. For his career, Martinez is 5-2 with a 3.66 ERA against Toronto.
In seven starts at Fenway Park, Martinez is 4-1 with a 5.01 ERA.
The visitors counter with Steve Parris, who makes his fourth start of the year. After battling back from a serious shoulder injury, the veteran righthander has slowly returned to form although his record may not reflect his performance. On Wednesday, he allowed three runs on three hits over five innings with a season-high seven strikeouts in a 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Parris will be making his fourth straight road start, hoping to lead his team to victory for the first time. The Blue Jays are 0-3 in games he's started this year.
Against the Red Sox lifetime, he is 0-1 with a 4.30 ERA.
The Blue Jays, who have lost five-of-six against Boston this season, are 16-21 on the road this year. The Red Sox are 4-6 in the past 10 meetings against Toronto at home.
