As for the game, the suddenly hot Red Sox have won their fourth game in a row and second against the Toronto Blue Jays. For seven innings the Blue Jays held a 3-2 lead as Chris Bassitt held Boston to just 2 runs in 6 innings. Meanwhile Tanner Houck was knocked out in the sixth inning after allowing 3 runs to the Jays. In the top of the eighth, Tyler O'Neill smacked a home run to tie the game and Ceddanne Rafaela knocked in Dominic Smith to put the Sox ahead. The trio of Brennan Bernardino, Justin Slaten and Kenley Jansen slammed the door as the Sox had beaten the Jays 4-3 at the Skydome.
Bassitt got the ball in the top of the first and Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Enmanuel Valdez flied out to left but Rob Refsnyder singled to right. Rafael Devers took strike three to end the inning. Houck got the ball in the bottom of the first and Spencer Horwitz doubled to right to start. Davis Schneider struck out swinging but Vladimir Guerrero Jr lined out to left. Daulton Varsho grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Tyler O'Neill doubled to left to start. Masataka Yoshida lined out to left and O'Neill moved to third on the grounder to second by Reese McGuire. Dominic Smith got a base hit to center to score O'Neill to put Boston on top. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
The Jays jumped in front in the bottom of the second as Justin Turner singled to left to start. Addison Barger singled to right to move Turner to third but Alejandro Kirk struck out swinging. Isiah Kiner-Falefa struck out swinging but Ernie Clement doubled to center to score both Turner and Barger. Horwitz walked but Schneider forced him at second to end the inning with the Jays ahead 2-1.
Duran lined out to right to start the top of the third and Valdez took strike three. Refsnyder grounded out to first to end the inning. Guerrero Jr flied out to center to open the bottom of the third and Varsho struck out swinging. Turner lined out to center to end the inning.
Devers got a base hit to left to start the top of the fourth but O'Neill popped up to first. Yoshida forced Devers at second but McGuire walked. Smith grounded to first to end the inning. Barger grounded out to first to start the bottom of the fourth and Kirk struck out swinging. Kiner grounded out to short to end the inning.
Rafaela got a base hit to right to start the top of the fifth but Duran struck out swinging. Valdez grounded into a double play to end the inning. Clement grounded out to third to begin the bottom of the fifth and Horwitz flied out to center. Schneider doubled to left and Guerrero Jr grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox struck in the top of the sixth as Refsnyder struck out swinging to start. Devers doubled to center but O'Neill grounded out to third. Yoshida got a base hit to center to score Devers and McGuire walked. Smith grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
The Jays answered in the bottom of the sixth as Valdez booted a grounder by Varsho for an error to start. Naturally Varsho stole second and Turner walked. Barger flied out to left but Kirk beat out a double oay ball. Kiner singled to right to score Turner to put Toronto back on top. That was it for Houck who failed to last 6 innings allowing 3 runs off 6 hits and 2 walks. Zack Kelly came in and got Clement to fly out to right to end the inning with the Jays up 3-2.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the seventh against Nate Pearson as Rafaela doubled to left to start. Duran singled to right to put runners at the corners but Valdez popped up to first. Refsnyder struck out swinging and Brendon Little came in to face Devers. Rafael struck out swinging to end the inning. Horwitz flied out to center to start the bottom of the seventh before Schneider struck out swinging. Guerrero Jr grounded out to short to end the inning.
Kevin Kiermaier came in for Horvitz for the top of the eighth when suddenly O'Neill clobbered his 15th home run of the season to tie the game. Yoshida grounded out to second and McGuire did the same, but Smith singled to center. David Hamilton pinch ran for Smith with Chad Green coming in to pitch to Rafaela. Hamilton stole second and Rafaela ripped a base hit to left to score Hamilton with the go-ahead run. Rafaela stole second but Duran struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 4-3.
O'Neill starts the rally
Bobby Dalbec took over for Hamilton with Brennan Bernardino on the mound to start the bottom of the eighth. Varsho singled inside the bag at first but Turner flied out to center. George Springer pinch hit for Barger but flied out to right. Justin Slaten came in to face Kirk and Alejandro popped up to second to end the inning.
Genesis Cabrera came in to pitch the top of the ninth with Romy Gonzalez pinch hitting for Valdez. Gonzalez flied out to right, Refsnyder grounded out to short and Devers grounded out to second to end the inning. Kenley Jansen came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Kiner flied out to right to start. Clement flied out to right and Danny Jansen pinch hit for Kiermaier. Jansen took strike three to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-3.
Hero of The Night is Ceddanne Rafaela. His rbi single in the eighth put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Tyler O'Neill was 2 for 3 with a home run and two total runs scored.
Reese McGuire walked twice in four plate appearances.
Dominic Smith was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
David Hamilton stole a base and scored a run as a pinch runner.
Zack Kelly got the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Brennan Bernardino got the first two outs of the eighth inning.
Justin Slaten got the final out of the eighth inning.
Kenley Jansen earned his 13th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Enmanuel Valdez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error.
Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Rob Refsnyder was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Tanner Houck got charged with 3 runs in 5 2/3 innings off 6 hits and 2 walks.
Honorable Mention:
Bobby Dalbec played first in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Don't look now but the combination of timely home runs and small ball has the Sox winners of 7 of their last 9 games. Sox manager Alex Cora giving Hamilton, Duran and Rafaela free reign to run as much as they want has put the Sox offense back on track. Pitching wise Houck wasn't that great today but was failed by his defense. The bullpen saved the day and they've been pretty good this season all things considering. If only the Sox had ace pitching this team would be a true contender, but thanks to Chaim Bloom and Craig Breslow's reluctance to spend money, what you see is what you get. Still, O'Neill's homer and Hamilton's running were integral to winning this one. Just have to keep winning by any means necessary. The win improved the Sox to 39-35, 11.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to win their fifth game in a row and sweep the Blue Jays tomorrow night when Brayan Bello (6-4) takes on Kevin Gausman of the Jays. The game begins at 7:05 PM at the Skydome.
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