*Photo from theday.com*
Cue up some late game heroics north of the border. Rafael Devers drove in two runs, Alex Verdugo homered, and the Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays with a 5-4 victory on Sunday afternoon in Toronto.
The win gives the Red Sox a series sweep of the Blue Jays, although it's just their 4th win in 10 games. On the season, the Red Sox are a perfect 7-0 against the Blue Jays, after going 3-16 against them last season. Devers and Verdugo were the drivers on offense, while Jarren Duran added 4 doubles.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of the win that "It was one of those, in that it was a grind from the get-go. We had a great weekend. The way we played this weekend was fun to watch. Hopefully it’s a lesson to everybody here in this group that if we play that way against everybody, we’ve got a chance."
Devers gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with an RBI single that scored Duran. Brandon Belt tied the score in the bottom of the first when he hit a solo home run, making it 1-1. In the top of the 3rd, Devers gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead with another RBI single. Bo Bichette then put the Blue Jays ahead 3-2 in the bottom half with a two run single.
Belt padded the Toronto lead in the 6th inning with his second solo home run of the night, making it a 4-2 score. In the 7th inning, Justin Turner drove in Duran with an RBI single to make it 4-3. Turner, running on a groundout from Verdugo, forced a throwing error that allowed him to score and make it 4-4 after 7 innings. Verdugo then put the Red Sox up 5-4 in the 9th with a game winning solo homer.
Duran said of the Verdugo homer that "I looked at the ball but I instantly looked back at Dugie because I knew he was going to do something cool. He’s a great player and he’s always coming up clutch for us like that. It was so cool to watch."
Garrett Whitlock was only able to pitch one inning for the Red Sox before leaving with an injury. Brennan Bernardino and Kaleb Ort allowed a run each in two combined innings before Nick Pivetta pitched 4 innings of one run ball. Chris Martin got the win in the 8th and Joe Jacques got the save.
Kevin Gausman allowed two runs on 5 hits and a walk in 5 innings for the Blue Jays. Tim Mayza and Yimi Garcia pitched the 6th before Erik Swanson allowed two runs in one inning. Trevor Richards pitched a scoreless 8th inning before Jordan Romano got the loss in the 9th inning.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of the loss that "I think they’ve outhit us every game, for one. They did some damage. It seems like it’s always the top of the order. Whether it’s Duran, Verdugo, or Devers, and Turner is a big add for them. He kind of changes the complexion of their at-bats up and down. He gave us trouble. That’s what it is."
Both teams resume their schedules on Tuesday afternoon. The Red Sox have yet to announce a starter for Tuesday's game against the Texas Rangers, while Chris Bassitt starts for the Blue Jays against the Chicago White Sox.
Comments
Post a Comment