JA Happ took the mound in the top of the first inning and Rajai Davis grounded out to short to start. Eduardo Nunez doubled over the head of Jose Bautista in right and moved to third on the ground out by Andrew Benintendi. Mookie Betts hit a tapper in front of home plate to end the inning. Porcello got the ball in the bottom of the first and struck out Ezequiel Carrera to start. Steve Pearce doubled by Davis in left but Porcello struck out Bautista on a nasty curve. Kendrys Morales struck out as well to end the inning.
Xander Bogaerts led off the top of the second base with a fly out to left but Rafael Devers singled to right. Hanley Ramirez banged into a double play to end the inning. Kevin Pillar started the bottom of the second by striking out. Ryan Goins walked but Darwin Barney grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Chris Young led off the top of the third with a walk but was erased on the force by Christian Vazquez. Davis watched strike three go by and Davis whiffed on a slider in the dirt to end the inning. The Jays struck first when Raffy Lopez started the bottom of the third with a solo home run to right, only his second homer of the year for him. Rob Refsnyder grounded out to Nunez and Carrera looked at strike three. Pearce popped up to center but it was 1-0 Jays.
Benintendi opened the top of the fourth inning by grounding out to second. Betts popped up to center but Bogaerts walked. Devers broke his bat on a ground ball....that hit Bogaerts for the automatic out to end the inning. Great luck huh? Porcello started the bottom of the fourth by striking out Bautista. Morales hit a seeing eye single after an 11 pitch at-bat and Pillar lashed a single to left. Goins singled to right to load the bases but Barney lined right back to Porcello. Rick blew away Lopez to end the inning.
Ramirez tied the game instantly in the top of the fifth inning with a solo blast to left. Young grounded out to third and Vazquez grounded out to second, but Davis walked. Nunez grounded out to third to end the inning but the Sox had tied it up 1-1
Porcello cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Refsnyder grounded out to second, Carrera flied out to left and Pearce popped up to right to end the inning.
Benintendi walked to open the top of the sixth but Betts beat out a double play ball. Bogaerts beat out a double play ball only because Pearce missed the tag going by. Bogaerts stole second but Devers grounded out to first to end the inning. Porcello cruised in the bottom of the sixth as Bautista hit a comebacker to the mound to start. Devers made a great diving stop to rob Morales of a hit and Pillar flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the seventh with Tom Koehler now on the mound. Ramrez greeted him with a double down the left field line. Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Young and blasted a 2 run home run to right to give the Sox the lead. Vazquez grounded out to third, Davis struck out and Nunez grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox now up 3-1
Porcello returned for the bottom of the seventh inning and got Goins to ground out to second. Barney hit a comebacker to the mound but Porcello walked the light hitting Lopez on 4 pitches. Refsnyder singled and Sox manager John Farrell had seen enough. Porcello did well for 6 2/3 innings to hold Toronto to just the one run. Robby Scott came in and got Carrera to fly out to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the eighth inning with Tim Mayza on the mound. Benintendi walked and stole second before Betts scored him with a double past the diving Pearce down the right field line. Bogaerts doubled home Betts as Sox analyst Jonny Gomes called the hit a cheeseburger. Devers walked to chase Mayza as Jays manager John Gibbons waddled to the mound to replace him with Aaron "Fruit" Loup. The Sox then pulled off a horrible double steal when Devers took off for second but Bogaerts never moved. Bogaerts then broke for third late and Refsnyder had all day to throw him out...but threw wide and both men ended up safe. Ramirez looked at strike three but Moreland blooped a single to center to score both runners and send the crowd to the exits. Vazquez singled to left but Davis earned a hat trick with his third strikeout. Nunez struck out to end the inning but it was 7-1 Sox.
Joe Kelly got the ball in the top of the eighth inning and got Pearce to ground out to start. Kelly froze Bautista with a curveball for strike three then blew away Morales to end the inning.
Benintendi grounded out to second to open the top of the ninth against Matt Dermody. Pillar ran down a line drive from Betts and Bogaerts flied out to center to end the inning. Kelly returned for the bottom of the ninth and Pillar popped up to first on the first pitch. Goings flied out to left and Barney lined out to Devers to end the game. The Sox had swept the Blue Jays out of Toronto with a 7-1 lead.
Hero of The Night is Mitch Moreland. His two run home run and 4 total rbis coming off the bench were the difference in the game.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 2 for 3 with a walk, stolen base and a run scored.
Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 4 with 2 total runs scored and a solo home run.
Chris Young walked in 2 plate appearances.
Rick Porcello got the win by pitching 6 2/3 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 7.
Robby Scott got the final out of the 7th inning.
Joe Kelly pitched 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
None.
The Ugly:
Rajai Davis was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts, but walked.
Eduardo Nunez was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 but walked twice, stole a base and scored a run.
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but walked, stole 2 bases, drove in a run and scored.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
Bring on the New York Yankees! After wiping out the Blue Jays the Sox now turn their attention to the big four game series in New York that could decide the division if the Sox can win 3 out of 4 or better. As for this game, it was great to see Porcello get a win after having an improved July and the additions of Nunez and Devers are paying off already. It won't last but it sure is fun to see the Sox steal people blind on the bases. Sweeping the Jays put the Sox at 76-57, 5 1/2 games up on the Yankees who got swept by Cleveland in a double-header today. If the Sox win 3 out of 4 they'll be up 7 1/2 with 25 to play, which means goodnight Irene for the Yankees. Eduardo Rodriguez gets the call to open the series opposite nemesis CC Sabathia who is a perfect 3-0 against them this season. If the Sox want to set the tone, they bash the Yankees around tomorrow night at 7:10 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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