The Sox pissed their chance to take an early lead away in the top of the first inning. Rajai Davis grounded out to third against starter Brett Anderson. Eduardo Nunez doubled but Andrew Benintendi grounded out to short. Mookie Betts lashed a single but Nunez was thrown out by a mile at home to end the inning. What a waste. Chris Sale began his dominance in the bottom of the first by striking out Steve Pearce to begin. Josh Donaldson grounded out to third and Justin Smoak flied out to center to end the inning.
Xander Bogaerts whiffed to begin the top of the second inning but Rafael Devers singled. Hanley Ramirez banged into a double play to end the inning. Sale struck out Jose Bautista to start the bottom of the second but Kendrys Morales doubled. Sale froze Kevin Pillar for strike three before Darwin Barney hit a comebacker to the mound to end the inning.
Anderson dominated the top of the third inning as Chris Young grounded out to start. Both Sandy Leon and Davis struck out to end the inning. Sale turned up the heat in the bottom of the third by striking out Miguel Montero, Ryan Goims and Pearce in short order to end the inning.
The Sox beat the ball in the turf in the top of the fourth inning as Nunez, Benintendi and Betts all grounded out in short order. Sale was equally dominant in the bottom of the fourth as Donaldson popped up to short, Smoak grounded out to third and Bautista watched strike three go by to end the inning.
The Sox continued to look pathetic in the top of the fifth inning. Bogaerts hit a comebacker to the mound, Devers lined out to left and Ramirez flied out to center to end the inning. Sale continued his destruction in the bottom of the fifth as Morales popped up to second, Pillar flied oit to right and Barney whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox finally broke through in the top of the sixth although Young popped up to first to start. Leon grounded out to first but Davis singled. Davis swiped second and scored on the Nunez double. Benintendi's single moved Nunez to third and chase Anderson from the game. Dominic Leone came in and Benintendi stole second but Betts grounded out to end the inning. Still, the Sox had a 1-0 lead.
Sale kept the lead intact in the bottom of the sixth inning. Montero grounded out to second and Goins struck out. Sale blew away Pearce to end the inning.
The Sox added a big insurance run in the top of the seventh inning. Bogaerts and Devers both struck out but Ramirez smashed a monsterous solo home run to increase the lead. Young watched strike three go by to end the inning but it was now 2-0.
Sale return for the bottom of the seventh inning but the Blue Jays were helpless. Donaldson grounded out to short, Smoak lined out to center and Bautista earned a hat trick with a strikeout to end the inning. Sale was absolutely dominant through the first 7 innibgs, allowing just one hit.
The Sox tacked on one more insurance run in the top of the eighth inning as Ryan Tepera took the mound. Leon struck out but Davis singled and swiped second. Nunez walked and both Runners moved over when Tepera's pickoff throw sailed away. Benintendi singled home Davis and advanced Nunez to third before swiping second himself. The Sox ran into another out as Nunez was thrown out at home on a ground ball by Betts, Benintendi moving to third. Betts also swiped second against the imcompetent Montero but Bogaerts earned a hat trick with his third strikeout to end the inning, but the Sox were up 3-0.
Sale came back for the botton of the eighth but was quickly chased when Morales and Pillar both singled to start. Seven innings and three hits allowed for Sale was nothing to sneeze at but fans were pissed that Sox manager John Farrell sent him out there with a 3 run lead and 7 dominant innings already in the book.
Addison Reed came in and struck out pinch hitter Ezequiel Carrera. Montero whiffed but Goins singled to load the bases. Reed got Pearce to ground out to short to end the inning with the shutout intact.
Rob Refsnyder took over at second with closer Roberto Osuna now on the mound in the top of the ninth. Devers lined out to right, Ramirez grounded out to second and Young grounded out to short to end the inning. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to close out the game in the bottom of the ninth with Mitch Moreland in for Ramirez at first. Kimbrel blew away Donaldson and Smoak before Bautista flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had shutout Toronto 3-0.
Hero of the Night is Chris Sale. He went 7 plus innings allowing just 3 hits, no walks and no runs while striking out 11.
The Good:
Rajai Davis was 2 for 4 with 2 stolen bases and 2 runs scored.
Eduardo Nunez was 2 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with 2 stolen bases and an rbi.
Addison Reed pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 31st save with a scoreless 9th.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Chris Young was 0 for 4.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but stole a base.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4.
Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 4 but made the hit count as it was his 20th home run.
Honorable Mention:
Mitch Moreland played first base in the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Rumors of Sale's demise were greatly exaggerated. He was absolutely dominating tonight to win his 16th game of the year. If he has a strong September the Cy Young award is his. The offense struggled again tonight but the incompetent catching of Miguel Montero allowed them to scratch out a couple of runs. That's not going to cut it most nights but they will take it tonight. The regression of the offense as a whole from last year is appalling but they are navigating the waters with one month left in the season. The win propelled the Sox to 75-57, 3.5 games ahead of the rained out New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look for the sweep with Rick Porcello (8-15) going up against JA Happ. One year ago this was a monster match between two Cy Young candidates, but both of them have struggled this year. The game starts at 7:10 PM at Skydome.
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