Red Sox vs. Blue Jays (June 11, 2011)

Red Sox (37-26) @ Toronto Blue Jays (32-32)

SP - John Lackey (3-5, 7.60) vs. Brandon Morrow (2-3, 4.50)

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. David Ortiz, DH
5. Jed Lowrie, 3B
6. Carl Crawford, LF
7. Marco Scutaro, SS
8. J.D. Drew, RF
9. Jason Varitek, C

Three Strikes:

1. Dustin Pedroia has not got off to a good start in 2011 and to make matters worse, his right knee has been bothering him and it forced him to miss Thursday's game in New York to have it examined.

The injury turned out to be just a bone bruise and Pedroia returned to the lineup last night in Toronto.  The day off helped the "Laser Show" find his rhythm and he went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the Red Sox 5-1 win over the Blue Jays.

2. For the seventh consecutive game, Adrian Gonzalez registered at least one RBI for the Red Sox.  It is the longest streak of consecutive games with an RBI in the slugger's career.

Through 63 games, the Red Sox look like they have made out on the 7-year/$154-million contract that they gave to Gonzalez after acquiring him from San Diego in the offseason.

Gonzalez ranks second in the A.L. in batting average (.338), first in RBI (57), second in doubles (20), and seventh in OPS (.959).  Along with Toronto's Tony Bautista, he is the early favorite to win the A.L. MVP.

3. It's hard to list Gonzalez' stats without mentioning the great start David Ortiz is off to in 2011.

Big Papi is nipping at Gonzalez' heels statistically in the A.L. and is fifth in batting (.320), sixth in home runs (15), sixth in doubles (17), and second in OPS (.992).

The production of both big lefties at the plate is a major reason why the team has survived their 2-10 start and slow starts from Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and Carl Crawford to take a two-game lead in the division.