Blue Jays, Red Sox pre-season games coming to Montreal next spring
Games will take place April 1 and April 2
The Toronto Blue Jays are headed back to Montreal's Olympic Stadium in April.
The American League East division leaders confirmed Friday that they will play a pair of pre-season games against the Boston Red Sox on April 1 and April 2 at the Big O.
It will be the third straight year the Blue Jays have ended their pre-season with games in Montreal.
Last April, 96,545 spectators attended games against Toronto native Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds.
"It's become a bit of a tradition," Blue Jays president Paul Beeston said on a conference call.
The Red Sox have some connections to Montreal. When star pitcher Pedro Martinez left the defunct Expos, he went to Boston. Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is a former Expos' general manager.
"There is a tradition between Montreal and Boston in hockey and between Toronto and Boston in baseball — it seemed like a natural," said Beeston.
Red Sox chief operating officer Sam Kennedy said his club jumped at the chance to play in the series and vowed that David Ortiz and other stars will there.