Blue Jays - 035 000 032 - 13 14 4 Red Sox - 150 100 000 - 7 12 0Rick Porcello's pitching line shows that he lasted only two innings (2-7-8-4-2, 64), but he actually faced five batters in the third. However, they all reached base and they all crossed the plate. Those five runs wiped out the Red Sox's early 6-3 lead. The home team did very little after that and the Blue Jays tacked on a handful of runs in the late innings.
It was a thoroughly ugly game, despite the Red Sox leading at two different points, albeit extremely early (1-0 and 6-3). The 13 runs allowed was a season-high and the seven walks handed out to the Blue Jays tied a season-high, done three times before. Boston also hit two batters.
Mookie Betts went 3-for-4, with two triples. The first triple came in the first inning and Betts scored with one out when shortstop Lourdes Gurriel threw home and the ball bounced and skipped past catcher Russell Martin. It seemed like an unfair error, since Martin made no attempt to get in front of the ball and block it.
Porcello walked the first two Jays in the top of the second and gave up a game-tying double to Kevin Pillar. A sac fly, another walk, and a single by Gurriel gave Toronto a 3-1 lead.
The Red Sox took the lead in the bottom of the second, helped out by three Blue Jays errors. Sam Travis walked with one out and Sandy Leon was safe on Gurriel's second error in as many innings. When Jackie Bradley singled to center, Pillar threw to the plate as Travis tried to score. Again, it looked like a decent one-hop throw, but Martin still resembled a wax dummy in a museum. Travis was safe and Pillar was charged with an error.
Betts then drove a ball to straightaway center. It hit the Wall near the bottom of the yellow line, perhaps an inch or two to the left, meaning the ball was in play and not a home run. Mookie legged out another triple and scored one pitch later, when Brock Holt singled to left. With two outs and Xander Bogaerts at the plate, Jays starter Ryan Borucki (3-8-7-4-5, 81) threw to first. Holt was off for second and Borucki's throw was wild. Holt got credit for a stolen base and he took third on the error. Bogaerts immediately singled him home. Borucki walked Mitch Moreland but got Eduardo Nunez, who had also made the first out of the inning.
Porcello's attempts at a shutdown inning were 0-for-2 when he gave up a leadoff home run to Justin Smoak in the third. He walked Kendrys Morales, gave up a single to Russell Martin, gave up a two-run double to Pillar, and surrendered a two-run homer to someone named Dwight Smith. Toronto led 8-6. Hector Velazquez came in and got three quick outs. He pitched the fourth as well, leaving the bases loaded after walking two and giving up a single (to Pillar, who finished the night 4-for-5).
Travis doubled to start the third, but Borucki struck out Leon and JBJ. Betts was walked intentionally and Holt struck out. Boston scored a run in the fourth when J.D. Martinez singled, Bogaerts walked, and Moreland singled, but that would be their last run of the night. Jake Patricka came in and loaded the bases, but Bradley grounded to second to end the inning.
Betts singled to open the fifth, but Holt grounded into a double play. Martinez then doubled, but Bogaerts fanned. Holt doubled to lead off the eighth, but did not move as the next three batters were retired, two by strikeout.
Toronto scored three runs off Joe Kelly in the eighth and two off Robby Scott in the ninth, both runs coming on Smoak's second homer of the game.
In addition to his four hits, Pillar drove in four runs. Smoak had three hits and four RBI. Morales walked three times and scored three runs. ... The Red Sox batted 21 times with a runner on second and/or third. They went 5-for-19 with two walks.
AL East: Cleveland beat the Yankees 6-5, so the Red Sox remain 3.5 GA.
Betts, RFAndrew Benintendi was placed on the bereavement list and Sam Travis was called up.
Holt, 2B
Martinez, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Nunez, 3B
Travis, DH
Leon, C
Bradley, CF
NESN reported that last night's win put the Red Sox 37 games over .500 (66-29) for the first time since 1949. That is not true.
As fenfan points out in this comment, the 1978 Red Sox were also 37 games over. I checked the schedule. After beating the Blue Jays in the first game of a doubleheader on August 30, 1978, the Red Sox were 84-47.
Pedantic Note: The Red Sox are not 37 games over .500. They are actually 18½ games over .500. To get the team's record to .500, you would have to take 18½ of Boston's wins and made them losses. They would be 47½-47½. A Clearer Example: If Boston was 6-4, you would say they were two games over .500. But if one of those wins had been a loss, they would be 5-5. It's a difference of one game in relation to .500, not two. ... I won't harp on this. However, "runners in scoring position" ...
AL: MFY/CLE, 7 PM. ... The Yankees are 3.5 GB.
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