G3: Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 7

Red Sox   - 011 004 200 - 8 11  0
Blue Jays - 100 600 000 - 7  9  1

When Joe Kelly (3-7-7-3-4, 80) allowed four straight singles to start the bottom of the fourth, then conked Kevin Pillar in the helmet with an errant fastball, and surrendered a first-pitch grand slam to Josh Donaldson, the night looked dark for the Red Sox.

But the visitors battled back, with Brock Holt hitting a grand slam in the sixth to bring Boston to within one. In the next inning, RBI-singles from David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez gave the Red Sox the lead. From there, the bullpen trio of Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara, and Craig Kimbrel shut down the Jays bats. In fact, Toronto did not get a base hit over the final five innings.

Kelly's evening was pretty much a disaster. He allowed a leadoff triple to Pillar in the first and issued two walks. He allowed a baserunner in both the second and third before imploding in the fourth.

Toronto starter Marcus Stroman's (5.1-6-5-3-4, 92) innings ran hot and cold. He threw three perfect innings, but allowed runs in his other three frames. With one out in the second, Ramirez singled and was thrown out trying for a double (despite his lost weight, he is not as fast as he thinks he is). Travis Shaw and Holt followed with doubles and the game was tied at 1-1. Boston took a 2-1 lead with two down in the third when Xander Bogaerts (3-for-5) singled and Ortiz doubled him home.

After Kelly put his teammates in a 7-2 hole, Noe Ramirez came in and allowed two hits, but struck out three to end the 11-batter fourth inning. As noted, those singles were the last Jays hits of the night. Meanwhile, Bogaerts began the top of the fifth with a double to left. Ortiz walked on four pitches and after a groundout moved the runners up, Shaw worked an eight-pitch walk. Stroman left the game and Jesse Chavez took over. His first pitch to Holt was lined over the right-field fence for a grand slam.

Boston grabbed the lead back in the seventh. With one out, facing Drew Storen, Dustin Pedroia and Boagerts both singled. Lefty Brett Cecil came in to face Ortiz - who singled home FY to knot the score. Ramirez grounded a hit into left field and Boagerts scored the go-ahead run. Holt reached on an infield error with two outs, but the Sox left the bases loaded. It didn't matter, though, because the top arms in the bullpen were as solid as they were on Opening Day.

Holt finished with a career-high five RBI. (His previous high was three, done three times last season.)

Toronto has lost its last five home openers, the longest opener losing streak in franchise history.

Joe Kelly / Marcus Stroman

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Holt, LF
Hanigan, C
Bradley, CF

The Blue Jays lost to the Rays on Tuesday because Jose Bautista was called out on an illegal slide. Toronto manager John Gibbons expressed his frustration by making a sexist comment: "Maybe we'll come out and wear dresses tomorrow. Maybe that's what everybody's looking for." Blue Jays TV analyst Gregg Zaun added that baseball was turning into a "sissy game".

The following day, the Orioles announcers repeated and then chuckled at Gibbons's offensive statement. Stacey May Fowles, writing in The Globe and Mail, looks beyond recent instances of sexism, racism, and homophobia in MLB and says there is evidence of enlightenment.