Toronto Blue Jays look to bury Red Sox in AL East race

Jun 22, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey (43) points in the dugout against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: Monday, June 29th   –   7:07 ET

R.A. Dickey vs. Clay Buchholz

The Blue Jays will turn to R.A. Dickey in game one of the series, and his curious road through 2015 is desperately in need of some stability. We’ve learned over the past month that there is a such thing as too much movement on the knuckleball. Dickey has tallied eight walks over his past two starts (14.1 IP), but how fine is the line between the current version of his pitch and the one that will finally click?

Dickey is nearing the point in the season where he’s due to find a groove. In 2014, Dickey posted a 3.07 ERA and 1.024 WHIP across six July starts. His August was not as forgiving, but he continued the surge with a 2.48 ERA in six starts from September 1st on. No time like the present, right?

Clay Buchholz will counter for the Red Sox, which may not be as intriguing at it sounded in May. The righty has put together consecutive strong outings of 7.0 IP to lower his season ERA to 3.68.

In his most recent start against the Blue Jays on June 13th, Buchholz lasted 6.0 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits while striking out seven and walking just one. His last meeting with the Jays before then, May 10th, was the last time that Buchholz walked more than two batters.

Next: Game 2: Near-No-No Estrada back at it