Sale took the mound in the top of the first and struck out Teoscar Hernandez to begin.....but Josh Donaldson hit a 650 foot home run to dead center out of Fenway to give the Jays the lead 2 batters into the game. Sale recovered to strike out Justin Smoak but Jose Bautista walked. Sale struck out Kendrys Morales to end the inning but it was already 1-0 Jays.
The Sox wasted no time tying the game in the bottom of the first inning as Xander Bogaerts singled and Chris Young doubled him home just like that. It was all downhill from there as Happ struck out Andrew Benintendi and got Hanley Ramirez to ground out to third. Sam Travis grounded out to third to end the inning but the game was tied 1-1.
Sale ran into trouble in the top of the second inning as Kevin Pillar singled and moved to second on the Russell Martin ground out. Darwin Barney walked but Sale recovered to strike out Richard Urena and Hernandez to end the inning. That was 5 K's for Sale through 2. Happ said "anything you can do, I can do better" by striking out Rafael Devers, Deven Marrero and Sandy Leon just like that in the bottom of the second inning.
The Jays quickly took the lead as Donaldson blasted a 900 foot bomb halfway to Maine to lead off the top of the third inning. Smoak lined out to center and Bautista struck out, but Morales singled. Pillar struck out to end the inning which gave Sale 7 through 3 but was trailing 2-1.
Unlike the first inning, the Sox failed to answer in the bottom of the third. Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to second, Bogaerts lined out to right and Young flied out to right to end the inning.
Martin was hit with a pitch to begin the top of the fourth inning but Barney banged into a double play. Urena flied out to center to end the inning. Benintendi nearly killed himself in the bottom of the fourth fouling pitches off both his shin and his foot consecutively before grounding out to third. Ramirez grounded out to second and Travis struck out to end the inning.
The wheels fell off for Sale in the top of the fifth inning as Teoscar Hernandez smashed a 700 foot home run completely out of Fenway to increase the lead. Donaldson struck out and Smoak grounded out but Bautista doubled and Morales blasted a 630 foot home run over the Mass Pike to ice the game. Pillar singled but martin lined out to third to end the inning with the Jays up for good 5-1.
As usual the Sox couldn't touch Happ in the bottom of the fifth inning as Devers flied out to center, Marrero flied out to right and Leon popped up to first to end the inning.
Chris Sale was finished after 5 innings and Matt Barnes got the call in the top of the sixth inning. Barney greeted him with a single but Urena and Hernandez whiffed. Donaldson flied out to left to end the inning. JBJ whiffed to open the bottom of the sixth but both Bogaerts and Young stroked back to back singles. That was it as Benintendi popped up to third and Ramirez whiffed to end the inning.
It was Joe Kelly's turn in the top of the seventh inning and Smoak lined out to right to start. Bautista also flied out to right and Morales flied out to left to end the inning. Happ ended his dominance by striking out Travis and Devers to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Marrero lined out to center to end the inning. Happ has now gone two full seasons without allowing more than 2 earned runs against the Red Sox in one game....pathetic.
The floodgates opened in the top of the eighth when Pillar singled. Kelly had Pillar picked off but Travis was too busy watching some girl in the stands and the throw missed him completely, Pillar advancing to second. Martin grounded out to advance Pillar to third and Barney walked. Ryan Goins pinch hit for Urena and singled in Pillar. That was it for Kelly as Heath Hembree came in....to allow a 3 run bomb to Hernandez to put the exclamation point. Donaldson singled but Smoak struck out. Bautista grounded out to end the inning but it was now 9-1.
The Jays emptied the bench as Ezequiel Carrera came in to right, Luke Maile took over behind the plate and Matt Dermody came in to pitch. Somehow the Sox rallied as Leon blasted a solo home run into the Monster Seats to start the bottom of the eighth. JBJ struck out and Jays manager John Gibbons waddled to the mound to replace Dermody with Tom Koehler. Bogaerts lined out to left but Young tripled into the gap in center. Rajai Davis pinch hit for Benintendi and doubled to left to score Young. Ramirez singled home Davis and Gibbons waddled to the mound again, this time to bring in Ryan Tepera. Rather than pinch hit someone, Farrell let Travis hit away only to strike out to end the inning. If the bullpen hadn't crapped their pants, this game would be managable but it was 9-4.
Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez came in to pitch the top of the ninth and struck out Morales to start. Pillar grounded out on a tapper to Velazquez and Maile struck out to end the inning. Luis Santos came in to close out this disaster in the bottom of the ninth. Devers struck out and Brock Holt pinch hit for Marrero....only to ground out to second. Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Leon and grounded out to second to end the game. The Jays had taken 2 of 3 at Fenway and beaten Sale 9-4.
Jackass of the Night is Chris Sale. The division title is at stake and he craps his pants AGAIN. This is very concerning because he may have to start the last game of the year at this rate, then either a play-in game or Game 1 against Houston. He lasted just 5 innings giving up 4 home runs.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Chris Young was 3 for 4 with a run scored and an rbi.
Rajai Davis singled, drove in a run and scored.
Sandy Leon was 1 for 3 with a solo home run.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 6th inning
Hector Velazquez pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Sam Travis was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Rafael Devers as 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Deven Marrero was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Brock Holt was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Joe Kelly gave up 3 runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Heath Hembree gave up a home run in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Not this garbage again. One year after backing into the AL East Division title it appears history is repeating itself. They had 7 chances to lock it up and have pissed two away just like that. Not only that, Toronto had been owned by Drew Pomeranz and Sale all season...until now. Once again the pitiful offense failed to bop their way back in the game against a mediocre pitching staff. Add the injuries to Betts and Nunez, this team is falling apart real bad. The loss drops the team to 91-66, just 3 games in front of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East with 5 games left. Tomorrow night Rick Porcello (10-17) looks to avoid a sweep when he takes on Marco Estrada in th finale of this three game set at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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