Alek Manoah got the ball to start the top of the first inning and Rob Refsnyder flied out to right to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging and JD Martinez also went down hacking to end the inning. Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first and George Springer lined out to left to start. Bo Bichette grounded out to second and Vladimir Guerrero Jr grounded out to short to end the inning.
Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to start the top of the second before Alex Verdugo hit a rocket to Matt Chapman. Christian Vazquez struck out swinging to end the inning. The Jays struck first in the bottom of the second as Alejandro Kirk walked to start. Lourdes Gurrierl Jr lined out to center but Raimel Tapia got a base hit to center. Chapman struck out swinging but Santiago Espinal got a base hit to center to score Kirk to put Toronto on top. Cavan Biggio struck out swinging to end the inning with the Jays up 1-0.
The Sox answered in the top of the third as Cordero caught the Jays asleep with a bunt single down the third base line to start. Cordero took off for second and Kirk threw the ball away as Franchy made it to third on the error. Yolmer Sanchez made his Red Sox debut by drawing a walk but Jackie Bradley Jr lined out to Espinal. Refsnyder stepped up with a sac fly to center to score Cordero with the tying run. Devers popped up to third to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Tie game
Pivetta got in trouble in the bottom of the third although Springer lined out to left to start. Bichette got a base hit in the hole at short and moved to second on the grounder to short by Guerrero Jr. Kirk was hit with a pitch and Gurriel Jr walked to load the bases but Tapia struck out swinging to end the inning.
Martinez struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth before Bogaerts grounded out to third. Verdugo lined out to center to end the inning. Chapman flied out to center to start the bottom of the fourth before Espinal grounded out to short. Biggio flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the fifth as Vazquez singled to right to start. Cordero got a base hit to center and both runners moved over on the sacrifice bunt by Sanchez. With a chance to take the lead....JBJ struck out swinging and Refsnyder grounded out to first to end the inning. The Jays capitalized on the failure when Springer hit a home run all the way to Cleveland to put Toronto on top to start the bottom of the fifth. Bichette struck out swinging, Guerrero Jr took strike three and Kirk flied out to center to end the inning but the Jays led 2-1.
The Sox struck back in the top of the sixth although Devers popped up to third to start. Martinez flied out to center but Bogaerts singled in the hole at third. Verdugo then pounded his sixth home run of the season to put Boston on top. Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
Gurriel Jr lined out to right to start the bottom of the seventh before Tapia grounded out to first. Chapman drilled a base hit to center but Espinal lined out to a running Bradley to end the inning.
Cordero doubled to center to start the top of the seventh but Sanchez flied out to left. JBJ grounded out to first to move Franchy to third but Refsnyder grounded out to short to end the inning. Biggio walked to start the bottom of the seventh and chase Pivetta from the game. Pivetta tossed 6 plus innings and held the high powered Jays to two runs while striking out 5 batters. John Schreiber came in and Springer forced Biggio at second before George took second on a wild pitch. Bichette lined out to first and Guerrero Jr struck out swinging to end the inning.
Adam Cimber came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Devers flied out to left to start. Martinez lined out to first and Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning. The Jays tied it against Ryan Brasier in the bottom of the eighth although Kirk grounded out to third to start. Gurriel Jr doubled to right and Bradley Zimmer pinch ran for him. Tapia hit a shot to center that JBJ missed for a double to score Zimmer with the tying run. Chapman struck out swinging but Espinal walked. Biggio took strike three to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Jordan Romano came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Verdugo grounded out to third to start. Vazquez walked and Trevor Story pinch ran for him. Cordero ripped a base hit to right to move Story to third but Sox manager Alex Cora made the laughable decision to have Bobby Dalbec pinch hit for Sanchez. Naturally Dalbec struck out swinging on a pitch not even close although Cordero stole second. With another chance to do damage....JBJ flied out to center to end the inning. Kevin Plawecki took over behind the plate with Matt Strahm now on the mound for the bottom of the ninth. Springer walked but Bichette struck out swinging. Guerrero Jr struck out swinging but Kirk flied out to right to end the inning.
David Phelps came in to pitch the top of the tenth with JBJ starting at second base. Refsnyder and Devers both walked to load the bases before Martinez was hit with a pitch to bring home Bradley to put the Sox on top. Tim Mayza replaced the incompetent Phelps but Bogaerts hit into a 3-2-3 double play. Verdugo iced the game with a double to center to score Devers and Martinez. Story was intentionally walked and Cordero grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3.
Strahm came back to finish off the bottom of the tenth with Kirk starting at second base. Teoscar Hernandez pinch hit for Zimmer and struck out swinging before Gabriel Moreno pinch hit for Tapia. Moreno flied out to center but Chapman singled to left to move Kirk to third. Espinal ripped a base hit to center to score Kirk and Biggio doubled home Chapman to put the tying run at third. With the game on the line....Springer popped up to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-5 in 10 innings.
Hero of the Night is Alex Verdugo. He drove in 4 big runs including the difference making double in the tenth inning.
The Good:
Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Trevor Story walked in his only plate appearance.
Franchy Cordero was 4 for 5 with 2 stolen bases and a run scored.
Yolmer Sanchez dropped down a bunt and walked in his two plate appearances.
Nick Pivetta held the Jays to just two runs in 6 innings of work. He allowed 5 hits and struck out 5.
John Schreiber pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
The Bad:
Bobby Dalbec struck out as a pinch hitter.
Ryan Brasier allowed a run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch, drove in a run and scored a run.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Matt Strahm got the win but allowed 2 runs in 2 innings of work.
Honorable Mention:
Kevin Plawecki caught the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Good win by the Sox to salvage this series without their leadoff hitter and closer but the true test is going to be the next upcoming month. The Sox are going to playing against the AL East from July 4th to the 24th and this will be their chance to sink or swim. Right now they're clinging to the first wild card and the month of July will determine if they will be selling or buying at the deadline. If the Sox can get Chris Sale back as well as some of their other role players like Kike Hernandez, they may have a chance to be buyers at the deadline with some distance between them and the other AL East times. Verdugo and Cordero stepped it up tonight offensively and Pivetta deserved the win. Now they get Tanner Houck and Jarren Duran back for the month of July so all the talking heads can shut up about it. The Sox had a good month of June to climb out of their hole but July is going to be very tough. The win improved the Sox to 43-33, 1/2 game in front of the Jays for the first wild card. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back in action Friday night in Chicago against the lowly Cubs. Rich Hill goes for the Sox up against Adrian Sampson of the Cubs. The game begins at 1:20 PM at Wrigley Field.
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