Red Sox vs. Blue Jays Thursday MLB injury report, odds: Xander Bogaerts, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. out as total drops

The total for Thursday afternoon's series finale between the Red Sox and Blue Jays in Toronto opened at Over/Under 8 runs at Caesars Sportsbook but has dropped to 7.5 (now 7 at some books) because two All-Stars will not start in Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts and Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero. Both are fine injury-wise, just rest in a day game after a night. They could pinch-hit.

In Boston's 7-1 win Wednesday, Bogaerts went 4-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. He has seven hits in the past two games and leads the majors with 29. His .397 batting average is second to San Diego's Eric Hosmer (.410). Bogaerts (+8000 to win AL MVP) is hitting .520 against the Jays this season with three doubles and three RBIs. As of this writing, it's not clear who might play short – Trevor Story could slide over and Christian Arroyo could take Story's spot at second.

Guerrero, the +400 second favorite for AL MVP, is hitting .309 with five homers and 13 RBIs but is just 1-for-11 in the first three games of this series and had played in every game this season. Lefty-hitting Gosuke Katoh is playing first today. Lourdes Gurriel is hitting in Guerrero's third spot and Raimel Tapia has been bumped to cleanup.

It's a good pitching matchup between converted Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock and Jays ace Alek Manoah. Whitlock (1-0, 0.66 ERA) made his first career start last Saturday at the Rays and shut them out on one hit over four innings with seven strikeouts. Overall, he hasn't allowed a run in his last 11.1 inning, surrendering just three hits.

Manoah has won seven straight starts dating to last season, tied for the third-longest in Blue Jays history (Roy Halladay holds the mark with 11 in a row). The right-hander faced the Red Sox twice in 2021, going 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings. The only Red Sox batter with decent splits off him is Alex Verdugo, who is 3-for-5 with two doubles. 

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