Guess this year is going to be different from last. Last year not only were the Boston Red Sox completely inept against the AL East, the team they absolutely couldn't beat was the Toronto Blue Jays. The Sox went 3-16 against the Jays last year but shed that loser image big time this year. The Sox won their sixth straight game and completed a 4 game sweep of the Jays tonight. Brayan Bello (1-1, 5.71 ERA) won his first game of the season by lasting 5 innings. The Sox bats led the charge with a 16 hit attack led by Masataka Yoshida and Rafael Devers. Yoshida knocked in 3 runs and Devers 4 to pace the offense. Brennan Bernardino and John Schreiber kept the Jays down long enough for the Sox to break the game open in the bottom of the eighth. It all added up to a four game sweep and a 11-5 victory over Toronto at Fenway Park.
Bello got the ball in the top of the first inning and George Springer grounded out to second to start. Bo Bichette doubled to left but Vladimir Guerrero Jr lined out to center. Daulton Varsho grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting to Gausman in the bottom of the first as Raimel Tapia took strike three to start. Masataka Yoshida belted his sixth home run of the season to put the Sox on top and Justin Turner singled to center. Rafael Devers flied out to left but Turner swiped second base. Jarren Duran struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Matt Chapman was called out on a pitch clock violation for strike three to start the top of the second before Brandon Belt whiffed. Danny Jansen struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox bum rushed Gausman in the bottom of the second as Triston Casas singled to right to start. Enmanuel Valdez drew a walk and Casas moved to third on the Kike Hernandez fl out to right. Reese McGuire lashed a base hit to center to score Casas and Tapia beat out a double play ball to score Valdez. Tapia swiped second and took third on a wild pitch before Yoshida got a base hit to right to score him. Turner got a hit to center and Devers broke his slump with a double to right to score bothn runners. Duran beat out a roller to third and promptly stole second. Casas struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 6-0.
Cavan Biggio grounded out to first to start the top of the third before Kevin Kiermaier grounded out to third. Springer struck out swinging to end the inning. Valdez flied out to center to start the bottom of the third before Hernandez grounded out to second. McGuire struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Jays began their comeback in the top of the fourth as Bichette grounded out to short to start. Guerrero Jr hit a home run all the way to El Salvador to put the Jays on the board. Varsho singled past Bello but Chapman struck out swinging. Belt singled to left but Jansen lined out to center to end the inning with the Jays down 6-1.
The Sox finished off Gausman in the bottom of the fourth as Tapia hit a roller to right and sprinted to second for a "double" before moving to third on a wild pitch. Yoshida singled to left to score Tapia but Turner flied out to center to chase Gausman. Tim Mayza came in and Devers singled in the hole at second and Duran lashed a base hit up the middle to score Yoshida with another run. Casas grounded out to second and Valdez did the same to end the inning with the Sox up 8-1.
The Jays stormed back in the top of the fifth as Biggio grounded out to second to start. Kiermaier walked and Devers booted a ground ball by Springer for an error. The Jays made Devers pay as Bichette singled to right to score Kiermaier and Guerrero pounded a ground rule double to right to score Springer. Varsho scored Bichette with a sac fly but Chapman lined out to center to end the inning. Bello stormed off the field and started punching the dugout railing as he once again had a finger problem that caused him to fall apart, allowing 4 runs in just 5 innings of work with the Jays only down 8-4.
Hernandez grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fifth but McGuire got a base hit to right. Tapia struck out swinging and Yoshida grounded out to third to end the inning.
Brennan Bernardino came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Alejandro Kirk pinch hit for Belt to start. Kirk grounded out to first and Jansen grounded back to the mound but Whit Merrifield pinch hit for Biggio. Merrifield grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Erik Swanson came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Turner flied out to center to start. Devers grounded out to second but Duran ripped a base hit to right. Duran took off for second and Jansen threw the ball away allowing Jarren to reach third. Casas grounded out to second to end the inning.
Kiermaier lined out to short to start the top of the seventh before Springer walked to chase Bernardino. John Schreiber came in and Bichette took strike three before Guerrero Jr went down hacking to end the inning. Anthony Bass came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Valdez flied out to right to start. Hernandez struck out swinging and McGuire lined out to center to end the inning.
Varsho singled to right to start the top of the eighth but Chapman struck out swinging. Kirk Banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox removed all doubt in the bottom of the eighth with Zach Pop now on the mound. Tapia walked, stole second and moved to third on the grounder to the mound by Yoshida. Turner lashed a base hit to left and Devers crushed his 11th homer of the season. Duran struck out swinging and Yimi Garcia came in to pitch. Casas flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 11-4.
Ryan Brasier came in to get tagged in the top of the ninth as Jansen walked to start. Merrifield singled off the glove of Hernandez but Kiermaier flied out to center. Springer got a base hit to right to score Jansen but Bichette flied out to right. Spinger took second on defensive indifference but Guerrero Jr was called out on strikes to end the game. The Sox had won it 11-5.
Hero of the Night is Masataka Yoshida. He set the tone with the first inning home run, drove in three total runs and scored three runs.
The Good:
Justin Turner was 3 for 5 with an rbi, a stolen base and 3 runs scored.
Rafael Devers was 3 for 5 with a 2 run homer and 4 total rbis.
Jarren Duran was 3 for 5 with an rbi and 2 stolen bases.
Reese McGuire was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Brennan Bernardino tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
John Schreiber tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Ryan Brasier allowed a run in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Raimel Tapia was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked, stole two bases, drove in a run and scored 3 runs.
Triston Casas was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Enmanuel Valdez was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Brayan Bello got the win but finger problems caused him to allow 4 runs in just 5 innings of work. He allowed 6 hits and a walk but struck out 5.
Final Thoughts:
Well that was a lot of fun. The Sox went 3-16 against the Jays last year and are 4-0 against them this year. Now that they got over that hump, they should have no reason not to beat the other teams, especially the New York Yankees when the time comes. Bello is still having finger issues but looked great the first couple of innings. Once he gets his hand fixed, he should be good moving forward. The offense continues to be red hot thanks to the trio of Valdez, Duran and Yoshida. Last month it was Alex Verdugo, Turner and Devers then pray for something to happen...talk about a turn around. Valdez isn't hitting 30 homers like he was in the minors but he's getting on base. Yoshida stopped trying to hit every pitch out of the yard and started going with the ball leading to big success. The biggest surprise was Duran, THIS was the player that the Sox were hoping for when he made his debut in 2021. Also another element on the team that could be deadly is their speed. Tapia and Duran stole the Jays blind and if and when David Hamilton joins the mix, they could have a very deadly offense. Casas may be struggling when he swings the bat but there's nothing wrong with his batting eye, he still gets on base for others to drive him in. All in all things have improved but they still need to figure out the rotation. If Kutter Crawford is out long term, they may have to keep Tanner Houck in. Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Nick Pivetta, Bello and Crawford with Houck as long reliever and an A-Team of Garrett Whitlock, John Schreiber, Josh Winckowsi and Kenley Jansen wouldn't be the end of the world. The wild card is James Paxton who's due to come off the Injured List soon. He could take Bello's place if Bello is having blister issues or Crawford if he's out for a bit. Joely Rodriguez is about to begin his rehab in Worcester so Ryan Brasier's days are numbered. Nothing against Ryan as a person but he's washed up. He was a damn good scrap heap pickup back in 2018 for the World Series run but that was 5 years ago. When the only thing to complain about right now is injuries and one relief pitcher, things are going good. The Sox now travel to Philadelphia for a three game set beginning tomorrow night with the Phillis. Chris Sale (2-2, 6.75 ERA) looks to continue his comeback against Zack Wheeler of the Phillies. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Citizens Bank Park.
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