Red Sox - 000 001 105 - 7 13 0 Blue Jays - 000 002 022 - 6 8 0Coming into Saturday's game, the Blue Jays were 73-0 when leading after eight innings.
Make that 73-1.
Jackie Bradley hit a one-out, game-tying, two-run homer in the top of the ninth - and the Red Sox kept hitting, batting around and scoring five times. (Bradley also tied the game at 2-2 with a double in the seventh.)
Brock Holt began the inning with a double off Roberto Osuna and, after Blake Swihart was called out on strikes, Bradley clubbed his ninth homer of the season, into the second deck in right-center. Mookie Betts grounded out, but Dustin Pedroia walked. The Jays brought in Aaron Sanchez. Xander Bogaerts singled. David Ortiz singled, giving Boston a 5-4 lead. A wild pitch scored another run - and after Travis Shaw was intentionally walked, Rusney Castillo singled in another run. Finally, Ryan Tepera, Toronto's third pitcher of the inning, retired Holt for the final out.
Robbie Ross set down the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth - and then it was "fasten your seat belts" time. Josh Donaldson walked and Jose Bautista lined a two-run dong to left-center. Pinch-hitter Matt Hague doubled to deep center, bringing the potential winning run to the plate. Justin Smoak took a strike and then grounded to Pedroia at second.
The Yankees beat the Mets 5-0, cutting Toronto's AL East-lead to 3.5 games.
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Shaw, 1B
Castillo, LF
Holt, 3B
Swihart, C
Bradley, CF
3 comments:
Also, from Gordon Edes: "The Boston Red Sox had not won a game this season in which they trailed after eight innings. They were 0-65."
Elias:
How unlikely was this comeback for Boston you ask? The last-place Red Sox had been 0-65 this season in games that they trailed at the end of eight innings, while the AL East-leading Blue Jays had gone 73-0 this year when holding the lead entering the ninth inning.
The comeback victory marked the first time since 1944 that, this late in a season, a major-league team won for the first time in that season a game in which it trailed going into the ninth inning and that team did it at the expense of an opponent that, in that season, had not lost a game in which it led going into the ninth. On September 29, 1944, the Giants tallied a game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth and scored again in the 10th to walk off with a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals. Prior to the comeback, New York had been 0-72 that season when trailing at the end of eight innings, while St. Louis had been 92-0 when holding the lead to enter the ninth.
Not that is matters much but this team will finish a distant third in AL east.
However, 2016 looks bright IMHO. Keep the 3 B's and spend $$ on the bullpen.
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