The Jays wasted no time scoring off Pomeranz in the top of the first inning. Teoscar Hernandez flied out to center but Josh Donaldson belted a solo home run to dead center to instantly give the Jays the lead. Justin Smoak nearly hit one out but was robbed at the wall by Mookie Betts. Jose Bautista lined out to third to end the lead but the Jays were up 1-0.
The Sox wasted no time fighting back against Toronto starter Brett Anderson. Xander Bogaerts singled to right and the limping Eduardo Nunez doubled him to third. The miserable offense reared its ugly head when Betts grounded out to first, although Bogaerts scored and Nunez moved to third. Hanley Ramirez grounded out to short but Nunez hobbled home. Christian Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning but it was 2-1 Red Sox.
The wheels fell off in the top of the second for Pomeranz. Kendrys Morales singled but Kevin Pillar banged into a double play. Darwin Barney walks and Ryan Goins singled before Luke Maile reached on an infield single to load the bases. Hernandez and Donaldson stroked back to back doubles to clear the bases before Smoak popped up to end the inning but it was 5-2 Jays.
The Sox mustered nothing in the bottom of the second inning although Rafael Devers started with a base hit to right.....only for Chris Young to bang into a double play. Deven Marrero walked but Jackie Bradley Jr whiffed to end the inning.
Pomeranz returned for the top of the third but Bautista singled. Sox manager John Farrell ran out onto the field with a tub of gatorade and threw it as hard as he can at Pomeranz. Drew dodged it and Farrell chased him out of the park. Pomeranz' velocity was down and it showed as his first stinker in a while produced just 2 innings and 5 runs allowed.
Austin Maddox was brought in and he got Morales to fly out to left. Pillar popped up to short and Barney struck out to end the inning. Bogaerts whiffed and Nunez lined out to third to begin the bottom of the third, but Betts singled to right. Ramirez grounded out to third to end the inning.
Maddox returned for the top of the fourth and got Goins to fly out to center to start. Maile flied out to center but Hernandez walked. Sox manager John Farrell sprinted out of the dugout and threw his hat at Maddox, kicking dirt and bellowing at him to get the hell out of there. Blaine Boyer strutted in from the bullpen and walked Donaldson. Smoak popped up to third to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Vazquez grounded out to short but Devers walked. Young flied out to left and Marrero whiffed to end the inning.
Boyer returned for the top of the fifth inning and struck out Bautista to start. Morales grounded out to second and Pillar grounded out to first to end the inning in short order. The Sox got some bad news in the bottom of the fifth although it started with JBJ grounded out to first. Bogaerts walked but Nunez swung and missed on a routine pitch before falling to the ground in agony. He tried to get up but sprawled out. Sox manager John Farrell ran out of the dugout and dropped an elbow on him to make sure he was down before Nunez was carried out on a stretcher, never to be seen again.
Sam Travis pinch hit for Nunez and singled Bogaerts to third but was thrown out at second trying to stretch.....idiot. Betts compounded the error by slamming home a single to score Bogaerts. Betts started clutching his hand and hopping around screaming. Ruben Amaro Jr tried to perform some Mr Miyagi magic but it didn't work. Instead Ramirez flied out to center to end the inning but it was 5-3 Sox with both Betts and Nunez hurt.
It was the Christian Vazquez show in the top of the sixth inning although Devers pitched in by snuffing out a Barney bunt attempt to start. Goins singled but was thrown out trying to steal by Vaz. Maile doubled but he was picked off by the alert catcher to end the inning.
Unfortunately the offense couldn't match the defense in the bottom of the sixth with Carlos Ramirez now on the mound. Vazquez grounded out to short, Devers hit one up the elevator shaft and Young whiffed to end the inning.
Carson Smith was brought in to pitch the top of the seventh and Hernandez popped up to second but Donaldson singled. Smoak banged into a double play to end the inning. Tim Mayza was brought in to pitch as Brock Holt pinch hit for Marrero to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Holt grounded out, nice job Farrell. JBJ whiffed and that was it for Mayza. Danny Barnes came in and struck out Bogaerts to end the inning. Another pathetic offensive display.
Smith returned for the top of the eighth and Chad Fairchild rang up Bautista for strike three. Joey Bats called him an unpleasant name so Chad politely asked him to please leave the premises. Bautista went berserk and had to be restrained by the late arriving John Gibbons before order was restored.
Morales grounded out to first and Pillar grounded out to third to end the inning. Ezequiel Carrera took over in right in the bottom of the eighth when the Sox rallied. Dominic Leone took the mound as Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Sam Travis....and struck out. Andrew Benintendi pinch hit for Betts and blasted a solo home run to dead center to cut the deficit to a single run. That was it as Ramirez flied out to center and Vazquez whiffed to end the inning but the Sox were now down 5-4.
The Sox had the Jays on the run but Addison Reed vomited up his intestines in the top of the ninth. Barney popped up to short but Goins blasted a 700 foot bomb completely out of Fenway to right to give the Jays a two run lead again. Maile whiffed and Hernandez grounded out to second to end the inning with the Jays up 6-4.
Jays closer Roberto Osuna came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth but the Sox were deflated. Devers flied out to right, Young grounded out to short and Holt grounded out to first to end the game. Farrell refused to pinch hit for Young or Holt with the game on the line and the Sox ate a 6-4 defeat.
Jackass of the Night is Drew Pomeranz. The Sox had a great chance to wrap up the division tonight and they blew it because Pomeranz sucked hard. His velocity was down and he was lit up for 5 runs in 2 innings.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Eduardo Nunez was 1 for 2 with a run scored before he was carried out on a stretcher.
Sam Travis singled as a pinch hitter.
Mookie Betts was 2 for 3 with 2 rbis before leaving with an injury.
Andrew Benintendi homered as a pinch hitter.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with an rbi.
Deven Marrero walked in 2 plate appearance.
Austin Maddox threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Blaine Boyer tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Carson Smith pitched 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Mitch Moreland struck out as a pinch hitter.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Chris Young was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Brock Holt was 0 for 2 as a pinch hitter.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Addison Reed gave up a solo home run in the 9th inning.
The Ugly:
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Pomeranz was due for a stinker but once again the miserable offense failed to pick up any slack. They had the Jays on the run twice and let them off the hook. The Sox managed just 7 hits....SEVEN. Brett Anderson is not Marco Estrada or Marcus Stroman out there, he's easily hittable. Can't harp on Pomeranz too much but the offense has just completely regressed from last year. Its a shame too, the playoffs are coming. The worst part is losing Nunez and Betts, possibly for good. The loss dropped the Sox to 91-65, just 4 games ahead of the New York Yankees with 6 to play. The Yankees are averaging 11 hits a game lately and 5 runs while the Sox are averaging 5 HITS a game...talk about awful. Luckily Chris Sale comes to the rescue tomorrow night facing JA Happ. If you thought CC Sabathia was tough this year, Happ hasn't allowed more than 2 earned runs in one game against the Sox in TWO YEARS. The game starts at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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