For the second time in three days the Boston Red Sox had to hold on to beat the horrible Toronto Blue Jays. Rafael Devers was a one man wrecking crew with a home run and 4 total rbis but it nearly wasn't enough to win the game. Eduardo Rodriguez (11-4, 4.34 ERA) pitched a good game, going 6 2/3 innings while only allowing 2 runs. Josh Taylor and Brandon Workman got tagged for a run apiece to bring the Jays within inches of completing the comeback. Somehow Workman slammed the door and the Sox held on by the skin of their teeth to beat the Jays 5-4 at Fenway Park.
Rodriguez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Eric Sogard walked to start. Vladimir Guerrero Jr flied out to right, Lourdes Gurriel Jr lined out to center and Randal Grichuk grounded out to first to end the inning. Aaron Sanchez got the ball for the Jays in the bottom of the first and Mr. Mookie Betts took strike three to start. Rafael Devers lined out to right but Xander Bogaerts doubled to left. JD Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning.
Cavan Biggio struck out swinging to start the top of the second and Justin Smoak dumped a base hit to center...but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Freddy Galvis lined out to left to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Andrew Benintendi walked to start. Michael Chavis singled to right and JBJ beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Christian Vazquez flied out to right but Brock "The Hitman" Holt singled home Benintendi to put Boston on top. Mr. Mookie grounded into a force to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
The Jays fought back in the top of the third as Teoscar Hernandez hit a home run all the way to the Klingon Homeworld to tie the game. Luke Maile grounded out to second, Sogard popped up to second and Guerrero Jr grounded out to third to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Sox retook the lead instantly in the bottom of the third as Devers mashed his 18th home run of the season to give the Sox the lead back. Bogaerts grounded out to short but Martinez singled to center. Benintendi flied out to center and Chavis popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
Rodriguez punched out Gurriel Jr swinging to start the top of the fourth but Grichuk walked. Biggio forced Grichuk at second and Smoak was rung up for strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth although JBJ flied out to right to start. Vazquez singled to right but Holt flied out to center. Mr. Mookie singled to center and a passed ball moved both runners over. Devers doubled home both runners to increase the lead and Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning with the Sox up 4-1.
The Jays tagged Rodriguez again in the top of the fifth as Galvis flied out to right to start. Hernandez hit yet another home run to the Klingon Homeworld to cut the lead. Maile and Sogard both flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 4-2.
Martinez popped up to first to start the bottom of the fifth and Benintendi went down hacking. Chavis was plunked but JBJ whiffed to end the inning.
Rodriguez cruised in the top of the sixth as Guerrero Jr grounded out to third to start. Gurriel Jr went down swinging and Grichuk grounded out to first to end the inning. Nick Kingham came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth as Vazquez was thrown out at second trying to stretch a base hit into a double to start. Holt singled to center but Mr. Mookie banged into a double play to end the inning.
Rodriguez ran out of gas in the top of the seventh as Biggio walked to start. Smoak hit a routine grounder to Devers who dove on the ball and swam on it for an error. Galvis flied out to left and that was it for Rodriguez. Eduardo gave the Sox the quality start they needed with 6 1/3 innings of 2 run ball. Matt Barnes came in and Hernandez walked to load the bases before Danny Jansen pinch hit for Maile. Barnes recovered to blow away both Jansen and Sogard swinging to end the inning.
Devers grounded out to first to start the bottom of the seventh but Bogaerts singled to center. Martinez popped up to first but Benintendi doubled to right. Chavis was intentionally walked to get to Bradley and JBJ naturally struck out swinging to end the inning.
Josh Taylor came in for the top of the eighth and Guerrero Jr hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Gurriel Jr then hit a home run all the way to Roanoke, Virginia to cut the lead. Grichuk was plunked and Biggio walked to chase the incompetent Taylor. Smoak took strike three and Galvis whiffed to end the inning but the Sox were only ahead 4-3.
The Sox got a huge insurance run in the bottom of the eighth against Jays closer Ken Giles. Vazquez whiffed but Holt singled to center. Mr, Mookie walked and who else but Devers singled home Vazquez with another run. Bogaerts popped up to first and Martinez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.
Things got hairy in the top of the ninth when Hernandez and Jansen walked to start. Workman got a big out when Sogard whiffed but Guerrero Jr lined out to right to send Hernandez to third. Gurriel Jr singled home Hernandez to put the tying run at second, but Grichuk whiffed to end the game. The Sox survived to win it 5-4.
Hero of the Night is Rafael Devers. He drove in 4 of the 5 runs including hitting a solo home run.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5.
Andrew Benintendi was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Michael Chavis was 1 for 2 with a walk and a hit by pitch.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Brock Holt was 3 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Eduardo Rodriguez got the win with 6 1/3 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4.
Matt Barnes got the final two outs of the seventh innng.
The Bad:
Josh Taylor allowed a run in just 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 5.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but gunned down Smoak at second base.
Brandon Workman earned his 5th save by allowing a run in 1 2/3 innings.
Final Thoughts:
The mediocre season continues for the Red Sox with the whole "win one, lose one" motif but at least this game was entertaining. Rodriguez pitched well compared to the other starters the past week and Devers was a man possessed tonight. Xander Bogaerts carried the Sox since the All-Star break and its nice to see Devers step up tonight. The Sox are gonna need major offense from the top 5 if they hope to bop their way back into AL East contention, especially with the pitching a complete mess outside of Rodriguez. Even Brandon Workman got tagged tonight and the Sox held on by the skin of their teeth for the second time in three games against the lowly Blue Jays. After the way the Sox got beat up by the Los Angeles Dodgers, going life and death with the Blue Jays isn't a good luck. Still, a win is a win and they all count no matter how pretty they are. The win improved the Sox to 52-44 on the season, 9.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox look to take three of four from the Jays when they send Chris Sale (3-9) out against Thomas Pannone of the Jays. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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