Marcus Stroman got the ball for the Blue Jays in the top of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts lined out to right but Dustin Pedroia doubled. Xander Bogaerts grounded out but Pedroia moved to third. David Ortiz grounded out to end the inning. "Slick" Rick Porcello took the mound in the bottom of the first inning. Jose Bautista grounded out and Josh Donaldson lined out to second, but Edwin Encarnarcion doubled. Michael Saunders struck out to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the second inning. Hanley Ramirez flied out, Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out and Travis Shaw struck out to end the inning. Porcello matched Stroman in the bottom of the frame as Justin Smoak, Russell Martin and Devon Travis all grounded out to end the inning.
Stroman continued to pitch well in the top of the third inning. Chris Young grounded out but Christian Vazquez singled. Mr. Mookie struck out and Pedroia grounded out to end the inning. The Jays struck first in the bottom of the third inning. Darwin Barney and Kevin Pillar hit back to back doubles to put the Jays up 1-0. Bautista singled and Donaldson walked to load the bases. Encarnarcion was hit with the pitch to force home Pillar. The Sox sacrificed a run for outs when Saunders banged into a double play, scoring Bautista in the process. Smoak flied out to end the inning but it was 3-0 Toronto.
The Sox fought back in the top of the fourth. Bogaerts greeted Stroman with a 401 foot blast to cut the lead 3-1. Ortiz doubled and Ramirez walked to put the tying runs on, but JBJ lined into a double play when Ortiz was doubled off second. Shaw lined out to end the inning but the Sox were on the board.
Porcello recovered in the bottom of the fourth. Martin struck out and Travis grounded out but Barney tripled. Pillar whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox had a chance to knock out Stroman in the top of the fifth. Young struck out but Vazquez doubled. Mr. Mookie beat out an infield hit to put runners at the corners and Pedroia doubled them both home to tie the game. Bogaerts singled Pedroia to third but Ortiz whiffed. Ramirez then lashed a single to score Pedroia easily and Bogaerts motored all the way around, beating the relay throw home. Unfortunately Ramirez got greedy and was thrown out at second to end the inning. The Sox had taken the lead 5-3 but had Ramirez stayed at first, they still would have been batting with Stroman shaken. Pitching with the lead, Porcello cruised in the bottom of the fifth. Bautista flied out but Donaldson singled only to be erased on the Encarnarcion double play.
The Sox finally knocked Stroman out in the top of the sixth. JBJ hit a ground rule double and Shaw went yard for his 7th home run of the year to increase the lead 7-3. Donaldson booted a ground ball allowing Young to reach first. Young swiped second as Vazquez whiffed. That was it for Stroman as Jays manager Jay Gibbons brought in Jesse Chavez. The Sox missed a chance to break the game open when Mr. Mookie flied out and Pedroia grounded out to end the inning. The Jays inched closer in the bottom of the sixth. Saunders and Smoak both whiffed but Saunders smacked a solo home run to cut the lead 7-4. Travis grounded out to end the inning. The Sox needed just 9 more outs to escape Toronto's bats with a win.
The Sox looked to have put the game away in the top of the seventh. Bogaerts singled and took second on an OLE by Pillar. A wild pitch moved Bogaerts to third but Ortiz popped up. Ramirez singled home Bogaerts to chase Chavez. Aaron "Fruit" Loup punched out JBJ and Shaw to end the inning but the Sox had an 8-4 lead. Porcello returned for the bottom of the seventh and got Barney to ground out. Bogaerts then chucked a ground ball 400 feet into the stands to allow Pillar to go to second. Bautista grounded Pillar to third and Sox manager John Farrell had seen enough. With 106 pitches on his arm, Farrell pulled Porcello for Matt Barnes. Donaldson walked to put runners at the corners but Encarnarcion grounded out to end the inning. It wasn't pretty but Porcello had gone 6 2/3 innings and allowed 4 runs. Not the best but it could have been worse.
The Sox missed a HUGE chance to ice the game in the top of the eighth. Drew Storen relieved Loup and Young greeted him with a double. Young stole third but both Vazquez and Mr. Mookie struck out. Pedroia popped up to end the inning. One more run could have iced it but the Jays came roaring back in the bottom of the eighth against Tommy Layne. Saunders was hit with a pitch and Smoak singled him to second. John Farrell then pulled Layne for Junichi Tazawa. Normally this is your 8th inning guy but Toronto is the one team that hits him well. Sure enough Martin singled home Saunders and Travis scored Smoak with a double to make it 8-6. Jimmy Parades pinch hit for Barney and didn't have to do anything as a wild pitch from Tazawa scored Martin and moved Travis to third. Taz did punch out Parades and Farrell decided to bring in Kimbrel for a 5 out save. Pillar whiffed but Bautista singled home Travis to tie the game. Donaldson popped up to end the inning. The Sox blew a 4 run lead using 3 different pitchers, baseBAWFUL.
Shockingly enough, the Sox took the lead back. Ryan Goins took over at short for the Jays with Gavin Floyd now on the mound. Bogaerts struck out but the retiring Ortiz added yet another clutch hit to his record with a solo home run to give the Sox a 9-8 lead. Ramirez popped up and JBJ grounded out to end the inning.
After all the runs scored by the Jays, all Kimbrel needed was one clean inning and the Sox would have won. He didn't get it. Encarnarcion popped up and Saunders whiffed. One out away from victory and Kimbrel allowed a single to Smoak. Ezequiel Carrera ran for Justin and beat Vazquez to second, the throw sailing away allowing Carrera to reach third. Martin then doubled home Carrera to tie the game. A wild pitch moved Martin to third when Travis lofted a grounder to Shaw....BOBBLED AND THAT'S THE BALLGAME! The Jays pulled off the shocking comeback to beat the Sox 10-9.
Jackass of the Night could be any of the relievers but I'll go with Craig Kimbrel. He was handed a one run lead twice and coughed it up twice.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was jut 2 for 5 with a run scored and 2 rbi's. Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored, a stolen base and an rbi off his solo home run. David Ortiz was 2 for 5 with a run scored and an rbi off his 13th homer of the year. Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 3 with a walk and 3 rbi's. Christian Vazquez was 2 for 4 with a run scored. Matt Barnes escaped the 7th innings scoreless.
The Bad:
Tommy Layne gave up a hit and hit a man, both runners came around to score. Junichi Tazawa gave up 2 runs of his own on 2 hits and a wild pitch in just 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 with a run scored, dropping his average to .269. Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5 but scored a run. Travis Shaw was just 1 for 4 with a run scored and 2 rbi's but his error in the 9th led to their defeat. Chris Young was just 1 for 4 but stole 2 bases. Rick Porcello faced a tough lineup and struggled, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings.
Final Thoughts:
This was one of the most frustrating losses of the season so far. Not since the Ron Kulpa game have fans been this livid. At least that one they got screwed, this time they got outplayed by a superior team. The Jays bats kept attacking and attacking, nobody could get them out, not even Porcello. The Jays are the number one offense in the league for a reason and they proved why the last couple of games. The Sox can't wait to get the hell out of Toronto. I will say the positives were there, the Sox came back twice to take the lead even if the bullpen couldn't get it done. Unfortunately the Sox have one more game in Toronto before heading to Baltimore. David Price takes the hill looking to avert a sweep against RA Dickey. The loss dropped the Sox to 29-20, a half game in front of the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East.
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