For the second straight night it looked like the Boston Red Sox were going to beat the Toronto Blue Jays. Tanner Houck held the Jays to just 4 hits and one run through 7 strong innings. Unfortunately the Sox bats could only muster 2 runs on an Alex Bregman double off Jose Berrios. Then with one out in the bottom of the eighth, Justin Slaten (0-2, 5.56 ERA) served up a 3 run meatball to Vladimir Guerrero Jr to put the game away. Yimi Garcia shut the door in the ninth and the Sox dropped their second straight game to the Blue Jays 4-2 at the Skydome.
Berrios got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran led off with a base hit in the hole at short. Rafael Devers took strike three but Duran stole second. Alex Bregman struck out swinging and Daulton Varsho robbed Wilyer Abreu at the wall to end the inning. Houck got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Bo Bichette grounded out to third to start. Vladimir Guerrero Jr took strike three and Anthony Santander popped up to third to end the inning.
Trevor Story got a base hit in the hole at short to start the top of the second but Triston Casas grounded out to third. Story moved to second on the play but Rob Refsnyder and David Hamilton both struck out swinging to end the inning. Varsho flied out to right to start the bottom of the second but Alejandro Kirk got a base hit to left. Addison Barger lined out to second and Alan Roden struck out swinging to end the inning.
Carlos Narvaez flied out to right to start the top of the third before Duran grounded out to second. Devers got a base hit to right but Bregman flied out to left to end the inning. Ernie Clement lined out to center to start the bottom of the third before Nathan Lukes got a base hit to center. Bichette struck out swinging and Guerrero Jr went down hacking to end the inning.
Abreu took strike three to start the top of the fourth before Story grounded out to third. Casas went down swinging to end the inning. Santander got a base hit to center to start the bottom of the fourth but Varsho swung at air. Kirk banged into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the fifth as Refsnyder got a base hit to center to start. Hamilton got a base hit to right to move Refsnyder to third and David promptly stole second. Narvaez popped up to first but Duran struck out swinging. Devers walked to load the bases and Bregman doubled to left to score both Refsnyder and Hamilton. Abreu lined out to right to end the inning but the Sox were up 2-0.
Barger flied out to left to begin the bottom of the fifth before Roden grounded out to third. Clement grounded out to second to end the inning.
Story grounded out to to second to start the top of the sixth before Casas got a base hit to right. Refsnyder grounded into a double play to end the inning. Lukes struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth before Bichette grounded out to short. Guerrero Jr grounded out to second to end the inning.
Hamilton struck out swinging to begin the top of the seventh and Narvaez popped up to second. Mason Fluharty came in to pitch to Duran and Jarren flied out to center to end the inning. Houck returned for the bottom of the seventh and Santander grounded out to second to start. Suddenly Varsho hit a home run off the roof of the Skydome to cut the lead. Kirk grounded out to short but Barger was hit with a pitch. Roden grounded out to short to end the inning and that was it for Houck. He was outstanding, allowing just the home run to Varsho in 7 strong innings. He allowed 4 hits and didn't walk anyone.
Devers flied out to left to start the top of the eighth and Bregman flied out to center. Abreu popped up to short to end the inning. Justin Slaten came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Clement popped up to second to start. Lukes got a base hit to center and Bichette doubled him to third to put Guerrero at the plate. Rather than walk him to set up a double play, Guerrero hit a straight fastball 500 feet off the Skydome wall to put the Jays up for good. Santander popped up to short but Varsho walked. Kirk lined out to center to end the inning but the Jays were up 4-2.
Vlad does it again
Andres Gimenez came in to play third and Yimi Garcia came in to close out the top of the ninth. Story and Casas both struck out swinging before Refsnyder grounded out to first to end the game. The Jays had won it 4-2.
Jays win
Jackass Slaten
Jackass of The Night is Justin Slaten. He served up the 3 run bomb to Guerrero that cost the Sox the game.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk.
David Hamilton was 1 for 3 with a stolen base and a run scored.
Tanner Houck tossed 7 innings of 1 run ball allowing just 4 hits while striking out 6.
The Bad:
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but stole a base.
Alex Bregman was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in 2 runs.
Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Triston Casas was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Rob Refsnyder was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Two nights in a row the Sox have a lead only to piss it away. Not only that, this team does not come back when trailing either. They went right in the tank after that Guerrero home run and it sank the boat. Its a shame because that was Houck's best game of the season and Slaten was just two outs away from potentially Aroldis Chapman ending it in the ninth. As it is, its yet another frustrating loss in a season full of them. The Sox don't have to play the Blue Jays until June 27th and that's best for everyone involved at this point. The loss dropped the Sox to 17-16, 2 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East. The Sox now come home for a six game stretch and they face the Minnesota Twins tomorrow night. Brayan Bello gets the ball against Joe Ryan of Minnesota. The fame begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
