Blue Jays - 010 000 200 - 3 3 1 Red Sox - 310 001 00x - 5 9 0Eight of the nine batters in the Blue Jays' starting lineup found Rick Porcello (6.1-2-3-1-8, 100) absolutely unhittable on Friday night. Edwin Encarnacion was the outlier, cranking two home runs and driving in three runs off the Red Sox starter. EE also singled in the ninth inning, giving him all three of Toronto's hits.
Boston got all the runs it would need in the first two innings off an inconsistent R.A. Dickey (4.2-6-4-4-3, 106). With two outs in the first, Xander Bogaerts grounded a single into left field. David Ortiz crushed a full-count pitch off the wall in deep center for an RBI-double. After Hanley Ramirez reached first base on a strikeout-passed ball, Travis Shaw ripped a first-pitch double off the center field wall. The two baserunners scored before Shaw was trapped in a rundown and was tagged out 8-4-3-5-6-2.
Christian Vazquez, in his season debut, made his presence felt in the second inning. Encarnacion had gone deep to open the frame and Porcello hit Troy Tulowitzki with a pitch. Justin Smoak had been called out on strikes. When Michael Saunders struck out swinging, Vazquez whipped a throw behind the batter to first. Ramirez was quick with the tag for the inning-ending pickoff. Vazquez then cracked a one-out double high off the Wall and scored on Mookie Betts's two-out single.
Vazquez also singled in the sixth and scored on Dustin Pedroia's infield single. Pedroia also walked in the second, which extended his on-base streak against AL East teams to 46 games. According to a NESN factoid, it is the second best mark in Red Sox history, behind Wade Boggs's mark of 61 games. (Of course, the AL East did not exist before 1969.)
After Porcello plunked Tulowitzki in the second, he set down the next 13 batters before drilling Kevin Pillar with a pitch in the sixth. Toronto closed the gap in the seventh when Jose Bautista walked and Encarnacion went deep again. Junichi Tazawa finished the seventh and Koji Uehara pitched a perfect eighth.
Craig Kimbrel made fans a little nervous in the ninth when Encarnacion blooped a two-out single to right and Kimbrel issued a five-pitch walk to Tulowitzki. The dirty water flowed, however, when Kimbrel struck out Smoak to end the game.
Boston pitchers struck out 12 and walked only two. The Red Sox drew six walks.
The Mariners beat the Yankees 7-1, scoring runs in each of the final six innings, allowing Boston (5-4) to sit alone in second place.
Betts, RFThis week: Pablo Sandoval was placed on the disabled list (the team says it's a strained left shoulder but they didn't even do an MRI before putting him on the DL). ... Rusney Castillo was sent to Pawtucket. ... Catcher Christian Vazquez will be activated before tonight's game.
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Holt, LF
Vazquez, C
Bradley, CF
5 comments:
During the last couple of games, I could swear Panda has been closing his eyes before he swings.
If he doesn't need an MRI, they should at least schedule an eye exam. It seems a little difficult to locate that first baseman way over across the diamond, too.
Also:
Marco Hernandez recalled along with Christian Vazquez.
Blake Swihart optioned to Pawtucket.
Passan (Yahoo!) from yesterday:
"The broken, disastrous marriage between Pablo Sandoval and the Boston Red Sox, an ill-fated union exceeded in its dysfunction only by a Kardashian coupling, could be nearing its end. Here’s how ugly it has gotten, major league sources told Yahoo Sports: Sandoval wants to stay in Boston only if he can play every day, and the Red Sox have no intention of playing him unless he loses weight and others in their current lineup struggle."
Oh, man.
ESPN:
"A former personal trainer for Pablo Sandoval says the Boston Red Sox third baseman needs "a babysitter" to watch over him and keep him from overeating, a temptation for Sandoval that the trainer likened to alcoholism."
After Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby became the first two black players in the major leagues, an article in the July 16, 1947 issue of The Sporting News discussed the talent pool of black players.
Branch Rickey: "I don't believe too many of them will make good, not enough for distribution around the National and American leagues."
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