The Sox wasted no time getting to Blue Jays starter TJ Zeuch in the top of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts continued his quest for a 30-100 season when he hit the first pitch of the game out of the yard for his 28th home run of the season. Rafael Devers followed with a single but was thrown out at second base. JD Martinez lined out to left but Mitch Moreland singled to almost the same spot. Andrew Benintendi grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Eovaldi got the ball in the bottom of the first and Bo Bichette greeted him with a base hit to left. Cavan Biggio whiffed but Bichette swiped second. Vladimir Guerrero Jr grounded out to short and Rowdy "Roddy" Tellez whiffed to end the inning.
The miserable Sox offense blew a chance to blow the game open in the top of the second inning. Christian Vazquez grounded out to third to start before Jackie Bradley Jr walked. Chris Owings singled to right but Marco Hernandez beat out a double play ball. Mr. Mookie walked to load the bases but the slumping Devers grounded out to second to end the inning. Randal Grichuk took strike three to start the bottom of the second but Justin Smoak singled to left. Reese McGuire lined out to left before Jonathan Davis singled to center. Derek Fisher whiffed to end the inning.
Martinez grounded out to short to start the top of the third before Moreland flied out to left. Benintendi walked but Vazquez lined out to left to end the inning. The Jays tied it in the bottom of the third although Bichette grounded out to short to start. Biggio crushed a 45,000 foot home run to tie the game. Guerrero Jr grounded out to second before Tellez singled to right. Gruchuk whiffed to end the inning but it was 1-1.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as JBJ grounded out to short to start. Owings whiffed and Hernandez lined out to second to end the inning. Eovaldi got Smoak to ground out to first to start the bottom of the fourth but the Jays took the lead for good when McGuire cracked a 100,000 foot bomb. Davis grounded out to third but Fisher walked. Bichette flied out to right to end the inning but the Jays lead 2-1.
Somehow the Sox responded in the top of the fifth inning. Mr. Mookie grounded out to third but Devers doubled down the right field line. Martinez then lined a ball down the left field line but a fan reached over and snatched it, causing a fan interference ground rule double that scored Devers to tie the game. Goodbye Zeuch as Buddy Boshers came in to get Moreland to ground out to first although Martinez moved to third. Somehow Benintendi lined a base hit to center to score Martinez with the go-ahead run. Another pitching change saw Justin Shafer come in and Benintendi swiped second, but Vazquez whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
Naturally after the Sox took the lead, they coughed it up in the bottom of the fifth. Biggio walked but Eovaldi punched out Guerrero Jr. All of a sudden Dr. Quick Hook Alex Cora came out to get Eovaldi. Despite the season being on the line, Cora stuck to his guns about pitch counts and took Nathan out. Eovaldi lasted just 4 1/3 innings and was charged with 3 runs.
Cora looked like a bigger fool when Josh Taylor came in and promptly served up a meatball for Rowdy "Roddy" Tellez to crushed completely out of the Skydome to give the Jays the lead back. Grichuk flied out to left and Smoak took strike three to end the inning but the Jays were up for good 4-3.
As usual once the Sox were trailing, they went right in the tank in the top of the sixth inning. JBJ whiffe, Owings grounded out to third and Hernandez whiffed to end the inning. Brian Johnson came in for the bottom of the sixth and McGuire greeted him with a single before moving to second on a passed ball. Davis sacrificed him to third and Teoscar Hernandez pinch hit for Fisher. Hernandez walked to chase Johnson as Ryan Brasier came in to punch out Bichette. Biggio walked to load the bases but Guerrero Jr grounded into a force to end the inning. No wonder MLB wants to limit the amount of pitchers used in a game.
Derek Law came in to pitch the top of the seventh but it may as well been the retired Derek Lowe because the Sox were done for the night. Mr. Mookie grounded out to third, Devers popped up to first and Martinez grounded out to third to end the inning. Andrew Cashner came in for the bottom of the seventh and Tellez lined out to short to start. Grichuk doubled to center but Smoak popped up to short. McGuire walked but Davis took strike three to end the inning.
Tim Mayza came in for the top of the eighth and the Sox rolled over. Moreland grounded out to second and Benintendi grounded out to almost the same spot. For whatever reason, Jordan Romano was brought in to face Vazquez and Christian grounded out to second to end the inning. Matt Barnes had the bottom of the eighth and Hernandez flied out to right to begin. Bichette whiffed and Biggio flied out to center to end the inning.
Ken Giles came in to close out the top of the ninth and JBJ struck out swinging to begin. Brock "The Hitman" Holt pinch hit for Owings and had the unmitigated audacity to beat out an infield single. Sox manager Alex Cora was so offended he send Gorkys Hernandez to run for him. Hernandez swiped second to put the tying run in scoring position but Marco Hernandez swung at a pitch headed for the backstop for strike three. Somehow Mr. Mookie walked but Devers popped up to center to end the game. The Sox had lost 4 in a row and failed to come back again in the 4-3 loss.
Jackass of the Night is Josh Taylor. He served up the two run jack to Tellez which ended up being the difference in the game.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a home run.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Andrew Benintendi was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi
Brock Holt singled as a pinch hitter.
Gorkys Hernandez stole a base as a pinch runner.
Ryan Brasier got the final two outs of the 6th inning.
Andrew Cashner pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Marco Hernandez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Nathan Eovaldi allowed 3 runs in just 4 1/3 innings. Him pitching is a waste of time at this point, why throw him out there for 4 innings a pop if you've conceded the season?
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Brian Johnson retired just one of the three men he faced.
Final Thoughts:
Say what you want about the state of the pitching but a glaring problem going into next year is the Sox waiving the white flag when they fall behind in the later innings. The Jays had the lead going into the sixth and allowed just 1 hit the rest of the way, the same offense that won 108 games last year just didn't care this year. You can squawk at Dr. Quick Hook for pulling Eovaldi or the bumbling bullpen but the bottom line is the offense doesn't come back. If they showed any of the fight they had last year, 5 wins here and there is the difference in being contenders and where they are now. Thankfully this miserable season is almost over. The loss dropped the Sox to 76-69, nowhere near anyone for a playoff spot. Tomorrow night is another worthless "bullpen game" as Bobby Poyner gets the start for the Sox up against Wilmer Font at 7:05 PM at the Skydome.
Final Thoughts:
Say what you want about the state of the pitching but a glaring problem going into next year is the Sox waiving the white flag when they fall behind in the later innings. The Jays had the lead going into the sixth and allowed just 1 hit the rest of the way, the same offense that won 108 games last year just didn't care this year. You can squawk at Dr. Quick Hook for pulling Eovaldi or the bumbling bullpen but the bottom line is the offense doesn't come back. If they showed any of the fight they had last year, 5 wins here and there is the difference in being contenders and where they are now. Thankfully this miserable season is almost over. The loss dropped the Sox to 76-69, nowhere near anyone for a playoff spot. Tomorrow night is another worthless "bullpen game" as Bobby Poyner gets the start for the Sox up against Wilmer Font at 7:05 PM at the Skydome.
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