Football
SportsTicker 19y

Red Sox host Blue Jays in doubleheader

BOSTON -- Thanks to Monday's rainout in the midst of a
hotly contested division race in the American League East, the
Boston Red Sox must play a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue
Jays on Tuesday.

With the unexpected night off, the defending World Series champs
fell one-half game behind their arch-rivals, the New York
Yankees, in the AL East after their 11-3 victory over the
Baltimore Orioles. Boston will face the Yankees three times
this weekend.

If the season ended Tuesday, the Red Sox would miss the playoffs
because they also trail Cleveland by one-half game in the wild
card hunt.

Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (15-11, 4.09 ERA) faces the Blue
Jays for the first time this season and needs to work three
innings to set a career high with 216 1/3, topping the mark he
set in 1998.

Wakefield is 7-2 since July 27 but did not get a decision
against Tampa Bay on Wednesday after surrendering four runs and
seven hits in 7 2/3 innings.

The Blue Jays turn to Dave Bush (5-10, 4.45), who opened the
season with five straight losses. He yielded three runs and
three hits in 3 1/3 innings of Wednesday's defeat against
Seattle, his third loss in his last four outings.

Boston won two of three against the Blue Jays from September
12-14 but trails the season series, 9-5.

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