Series Preview: Blue Jays in desperate need of turnaround vs. Red Sox

The Toronto Blue Jays are in big trouble following a disastrous series against the Texas Rangers.

To have any hope of making a last-ditch push for a playoff spot, the Blue Jays must find a way to do something they have not done all year -- beat up on American League East teams.

The Blue Jays begin a 15-game run against AL East competition to finish the season with a three-game weekend series against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre.

Toronto is a woeful 12-25 against the East this season.

Here's a look at the Blue Jays-Red Sox series.

Probable Pitchers

Friday, 7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT: Toronto RHP Jose Berrios (10-10, 3.63 ERA) vs. Boston RHP Brayan Bello (12-8, 3.68 ERA)

Saturday, 3:07 p.m. ET / 12:07 p.m. PT: Toronto RHP Chris Bassitt (14-8, 3.83 ERA) vs. Boston LHP Chris Sale (6-4, 4.88 ERA)

Sunday, 1:37 p.m. ET / 10:37 a.m. PT: Toronto LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (3-3, 2.93 ERA) vs. Boston RHP Nick Pivetta (9-9, 4.56 ERA)

All games on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+

Latest on the Blue Jays

The Blue Jays (80-67) were terrible in the biggest series of the season, losing all four games against the visiting Rangers.

The disheartening result pushed Toronto 1.5 games back of the Seattle Mariners for the final wild-card spot and 2.5 games behind Texas for spot No. 2. To make matters worse, the Blue Jays don't hold the tiebreaker on any of their potential wild-card foes.

The Rangers, who had won six of 22 entering the series, outscored the Blue Jays 35-9.

In the final two games, 10-0 and 9-2 losses, the Blue Jays heard loud boos from their fans.

In Thursday's finale, relievers Trevor Richards and Yimi Garcia endured a painful eighth inning as the Rangers scored five runs to break open a 4-2 game.

For those looking for a bright spot, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his first home run in 10 games.

Latest on the Red Sox

The Red Sox (74-73) entered September with a legitimate shot at a wild-card spot but have lost seven of their last 10 and are all but toast.

Boston is now 7.5 games off the pace.

The Red Sox fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom before splitting a doubleheader against the visiting New York Yankees on Thursday.

Aaron Judge hit a grand slam in the finale as the Yankees won 8-5 to complete a 3-1 series victory.

The Red Sox, who are tied with the Yankees for last in the AL East, are in danger of finishing in the division basement for the third time in four years.

Big Bat

Boston's Rafael Devers looks like a good bet to deliver his third 100-RBI season of his career.

Devers has 95 RBIs on the year, along with 31 home runs.

Season Series

The Red Sox have been a problem for the Blue Jays all year, winning seven of 10 games. However, Toronto snapped its winless run against Boston with a three-game sweep at Fenway Park in their last meeting in early August.

Berrios (three runs, 5.2 innings) and Bassitt (one run, seven innings) got the wins in the last two games.

That series also marked the unforgettable major-league debut of Davis Schneider, who homered in his first at-bat. He finished the weekend with nine hits, two homers and five RBIs.

Canadian Corner

Pivetta, Sunday's starter, is back in the starting rotation for the Red Sox to replace fellow Canadian James Paxton, who was shut down for the season with a knee injury earlier this month.

The Victoria-born Pivetta allowed three runs on four hits in 5.1 innings against the Yankees last time out.

Out of Town

The Rangers are in Cleveland to face the all-but-out-of-it Guardians this weekend, the Mariners host the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers while the AL West-leading Houston Astros are on the road for a series against the lowly Kansas City Royals.

The Astros are only a half-game up on the Rangers, so they still could fall back into the wild-card race.

Up Next

After an off-day Monday, the Blue Jays begin their final road trip of the season with a three-game series against the Yankees.