Game #137: Jays at Red Sox pregame
Toronto (70-66) at Boston (82-55)
at 7:05 p.m. ET at Fenway Park
Today’s lineups:
BLUE JAYS
Vernon Wells, CF
Matt Stairs, LF
Alex Rios, RF
Frank Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Aaron Hill, 2B
Gregg Zaun, C
John McDonald, SS
PITCHING: RHP Jesse Litsch (5-6, 3.40 ERA)
RED SOX
Jacoby Ellsbury, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Coco Crisp, CF
Eric Hinske, 1B
Julio Lugo, SS
PITCHING: RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (13-11, 3.88 ERA)
NOTES: Toronto manager John Gibbons kept Stairs and his streaking bat in the lineup, keeping LF Reed Johnson on the bench for a second game in a row. Stairs has hit .444 over his past nine games with eight extra-base hits over that span. Johnson has hit .213 over his past 12 games. … Gibbons said RHP Brandon League would likely rejoin the Jays on Tuesday, along with a handful of September callups. It appears likely that INF Hector Luna, C Sal Fasano and RHP Josh Banks will get the call.
AL WILD CARD RACE
entering Monday
1. New York 76-61 (–)
2. Seattle 73-62 (2)
3. Detroit 73-64 (3)
4. Toronto 70-66 (5.5)
REALITY CHECK…Since 1995, the runner-up in the AL Wild Card race has finished with an average of 89 victories. The Blue Jays would need to go 20-6 over their final 26 games to reach 90 wins.
THIS JUST IN: The Yankees lost, 7-1, to the Mariners this afternoon, meaning the Jays can move within 4.5 games of the Wild Card lead with a win tonight over Boston.
Major League Bastian 
Well, at least Abner has recognized he needs Stairs in the lineup.
That is a good thing!
Ok I haven’t been around.
What’s the reasoning behind calling Gibbons “Abner”?
Loaiza is beating Zambrano big time we can thank the Dodgers for picking him up of waivers he always pitches tough against us.
LI’L ABNER from dogpatch.
We lucked out with not having Manny in the line up. It amazes me how the Sox have been able to play as well as they have with Coco Crisp hitting .237 and Henske hitting .213 in there line up. plus if you look at it the bottom 5 players in the lineup today are all under .266
Guys don’t tell me that carlos zambrano gave up loads of runs, he’s on my fantasy team and i’m in the playoffs right now-
sorry i was out most of the long weekend so haven’t had a chance to post and school’s starting too so you guys prolly won’t be seeing alot of me.
now for the jays
i was thinking about this line-up against pitchers who have been hit by left handed batters
rios
lind/overbay
stairs (1st baseman when lind in lineup)
thomas
glaus
wells
hill
zaun
mcdonald/olmeldo (i love the d j mac provides)
i still don’t see why fasano got called up to the big leagues. it’s hard enough to get playtime for thigpen.
HOpe the jays win tonight it will be a big win.
and is josh banks gonna start for us or is he gonna pitch from the pen?
I agree with you HP229, I don’t get why the Jays need 3 catchers, I hope Lund gets a few at bats this month,I liked what he was able to do the the bat and his fielding is getting better
3rd Catcher is just in case of an injury.
If Zaun or Thigpen got hurt 2 weeks from now you don’t want to have to call someone who’s been sitting on the couch at home for 2 weeks.
They’d be at home because the minor league seasons are all over today. Aside from play-offs of course.
AA New Hampshire missed the playoffs by 10.5 games (not including whatever happened today).
AAA Syracuse missed the playoffs by 13.5 games (again not including whatever happened today).
Oops I can’t do math appearently.
Syracuse missed the Wild Card by 14.5 games. (Division by 20.5)
Depending on what happened today they may have finished 2nd last in the International League.
GREAT JOB JP!
Matt Stairs $$$$ next year
GOOD FOR HIM.
jay up by 1, good deal!
AA-New Hampshire is playing Portland in a 1-game playoff on Tuesday nite for the Wild Card spot.
Interesting.
That’s a weird Wild Card system where there’s 1 wild card for each division instead of 2 wild cards for the league as a whole.
I assumed that Altoona and Bowie of the southern division were in the running for the 2nd card since they both have better recors than New Hampshire (who’s in the north division).
Well, my bad.
what the h-ell is kenneday doing in this game.
HE’S a flake whats wrong with towers or frasor.
nice move Abner.
Nice move by the cripple glaus.
Another great move by JP any more pitchers on the garbage heap that need a job phone 1-800-JP.
Ops on towers.my bad.
abner to Ernie
I wanna bring in Kennedy. Ernie says” Really, Abner the guy’s been a looser for the last year-we’re still in this game.
Abner to Ernie-I don’t give a **** about this game I wanna see Kennedy-get him ready.
So Kennedy comes in,gives up 3 runs and Ernie says: I told you Abner the guy’s a looser.
To which Abner responses: He’s not a looser,we just have to keep running him out there until he succeeds-regardless of the game outcome. I couldn’t care less if his era is 120.5-let’s just keep running him out there-sooner or later it’ll change.
We should tell Abner there’s a sand lot team needing a manage down in the hills-he should take it.
Of course, providning he has a good assistant.
You know Wells is not worth the money that that IDIOT pappy Yokum gave him he’s never there when you need him the most I say trade him this winter right after they fire gibbons and JP.
You can say what you want but you wont change my mind.
This team had the cghance of a lifetime tonight and they are blowing it.
There goes Abner with his FAT shirt on to get waldo.
ARMSTRONG ZAUN.