Jays Shut Down Sox (4/7/25)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a shocking roster move. The Sox traded Quinn Priester to the Milwaukee Brewers for 19 year old outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez, the 33rd overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft and either a sack of money or a player to be named. With Lucas Giolito, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello due back from injury, the Sox were going to have way too many pitchers. Hunter Dobbins impressing last night pretty much sealed the fate of Priester. The Sox got Priester at the deadline last year for Nick Yorke and he won his only major league start despite struggling in Worcester. Now who did they get? Yophery Rodriguez is a 19 year old outfielder who was the #7 ranked prospect in Milwaukee's system. He had a couple of good games for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers after hitting .250 with 7 home runs and 60 rbis last year for the Low A Carolina Mudcats. He's the same age as Roman Anthony so now the Sox have two 19 year old guys to keep their eyes on. The Sox also get the "competitive balance pick" which is essentially the Brewers second round pick. The Sox now have two of the top 35 picks in the draft coming up. Good luck to Priester in Milwaukee, hope this doesn't come back to haunt the Sox. The other move is Cooper Criswell was optioned back to Worcester after his recent struggles and old pal Robert Stock was called up to replace him. Stock was a cult hero on the 2020 Red Sox so its nice to see him again.

                                                                         OUT

                                                                            IN

As for the game, it was bound to happen after the Sox scored 18 runs last night. Tonight Braxton Berrios and the Toronto Blue Jays held the Sox to just 5 measly hits and 2 runs. "Big" Dick Fitts (0-2, 4.50 ERA) battled for 6 innings but allowed 3 runs to the Jays. Greg Weissert and the returning Robert Stock put the game out of reach by allowing 3 runs combined. It didn't matter anyway as the red hot Kristian Campbell didn't play and Wilyer Abreu finally cooled off, leading to a Jays 6-2 victory over the Sox at Fenway Park.

                                                                Sad Jerry

Fitts got in trouble almost immediately in the top of the first inning as Ceddanne Rafaela made an amazing sliding catch to rob Bo Bichette of a triple to start. Vladimir Guerrero Jr struck out swinging but Anthony Santander walked. Andres Gimenez walked and Connor Wong hurt his hand on a catcher's interference on George Springer to load the bases. Alejandro Kirk flied out to left to end the inning.

Jarren Duran doubled to center to start the bottom of the first and moved to third on a Rafael Devers grounder to second. Alex Bregman popped up to second and Triston Casas grounded out to third to end the inning.

Carlos Narvaez came in to catch the top of the second and Will Wagner grounded out to short to start. Nathan Lukes struck out swinging and Alan Roden lined out to third to end the inning. Trevor Story grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second before Wilyer Abreu took strike three. Narvaez popped up to short to end the inning.

The Jays struck first in the top of the third as Bichette doubled to center to start. Guerrero Jr walked but Santander grounded out to first to move both runners over. Gimenez hit a sac fly to right to score Bichette and Springer got a base hit to left to score Guerrero. Kirk got a base hit to right but Wagner lined out to Rafaela to end the inning with the Jays up 2-0.

                                                          Springer drives in a run

The Sox rallied in the bottom of the third as David Hamilton walked to start. Hamilton stole second but then got picked off almost immediately. Rafaela walked and Duran doubled to right to move Ceddanne to third. Devers hit a sac fly to center to score Rafaela but Bregman flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.

                                                       Devers brings the Sox closer

Lukes popped up to third to start the top of the fourth before Roden struck out swinging. Bichette struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the fourth as Casas grounded out to second to start. Story grounded out to short and Abreu grounded out to first to end the inning.

Guerrero Jr got a base hit to center to start the top of the fifth but Santander grounded into a double play. Gimenez walked and naturally stole second base. Springer got another base hit to left to score Gimenez to ice the game. Kirk flied out to right to end the inning with the Jays up 3-1.

                                                            Springer does it again

The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the fifth as Narvaez grounded out to short to start. Hamilton grounded out to first and Rafaela grounded out to second to end the inning.

The Jays blew a rally in the top of the sixth as Duran dropped a pop up by Wagner for an error to start. A wild pitch moved Wagner to second and Lukes got a base hit to left to move Wagner to third. Somehow Wagner remained at third as Roden forced Lukes out at second for a big out....but wait! Sox manager Alex Cora that Roden was out at first as well. Sure enough, the call stood with Wagner still on third. Bichette flied out to center to end the inning. That was it for Fitts who battled but allowed 3 runs in 6 innings of work. He gave up 6 hits and 4 walks while striking out four.

                                                               Fitts deserved better

Greg Weissert came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Guerrero Jr got a base hit to right to start. Santander took strike three and Gimenez forced Guerrero at second. Gimenez stole second and Springer did it again with a base hit to right to score him. Kirk got a base hit in the hole at second and Wagner got a base hit to center to score Springer. Lukes grounded out to second to end the inning with the Jays up 5-1.

                                              Someone needs to throw up and in next time

Casas walked to start the bottom of the seventh and Story drilled a base hit to left. Naturally Abreu flied out to left, Narvaez flied out to left and Hamilton took strike three right down the middle to end the inning.

Robert Stock made his first appearance at Fenway in 5 years by getting Roden to pop up to first to start the top of the eighth. Bichette grounded out to second and Guerrero grounded out to short to end the inning. Suddenly the Sox came to life in the bottom of the eighth with Yimi Garcia on the mound. Wagner threw a grounder by Rafaela away and Duran walked. Devers lined out to center and Bregman flied out to left, but Casas got a base hit to left to score Rafaela. Duran moved to third but he was stranded when Story took strike three right down the middle to end the inning with the Sox down 5-2.

                                                             Casas drives in a run

Stock got roughed up in the top of the ninth as Santander drilled a base hit to right to start. Gimenez flied out to center and Springer once again got a base hit, off the glove of Stock. Kirk lined out to second but Wagner walked to load the bases. Lukes booped a single to center to score Santander but Wagner was thrown out at third. Blue Jays manager John Schneider challenged he was safe but the umpires upheld the call to end the inning with the Jays up 6-2.

                                                           Lukes drives in a run

Ernie Clement came in for Wagner and Myles Straw came in for Lukes with Jeff Hoffman on the mound for the bottom of the ninth. Abreu struck out swinging, Narvaez grounded out to third and Hamilton flied out to left to end the game. The Jays had won it 6-2.

                                                          Jays win

Jackass of The Night is Greg Weissert. He turned a 3-1 game into 5-1 after allowing a couple of runs.

                                                                  Jackass Weissert

The Good:

Jarren Duran was 2 for 3 with a walk.

Triston Casas was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.

The Bad:

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 4.

The Ugly:

Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 but drove in a run.

Alex Bregman was just 1 for 4.

Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

David Hamilton was 0 for 3 with a strikeout and got picked off but walked and stole a base.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 2 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Dick Fitts took the loss but allowed just 3 runs in 6 innings of work. He gave up 6 hits and 4 walks while striking out 4.

Robert Stock allowed a run in 2 innings of work.

Honorable Mention:

Connor Wong caught the top of the first.

Final Thoughts:

Double dose of bad news as it was revealed after the game Connor Wong fractured his pinky finger and will spend some time on the Injured List. The Sox also lost the game where the offense had just 5 hits. Usually when a team scores nearly 20 runs in one game, they can't hit for beans in the next game. The worst part was the New York Yankees lost today so the Sox would have ended up in first place had they won the game. It was good to see Robert Stock again who hadn't pitched at Fenway since he accidentally went viral five years ago. Fitts was a victim of poor run support and he might be the next to go back to Worcester once one of the injured starters returns. It'll be interesting to see who takes Wong's place. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow night with Garrett Crochet on the mound against Easton Lucas of Toronto. The game begins at 6:45 PM at Fenway Park.