Its been an epidemic this season of how bad the Boston Red Sox not only play at home but with men on base. Tonight the Sox actually outhit the Toronto Blue Jays 8-7 but it was the Jays that hot the big ones. Payton Tolle (3-4,2.93 ERA) was tagged for 3 runs in 5 innings with fifth inning home runs by Davis Schneider and Andres Gimenez being the difference. Meanwhile the inept Sox were 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position leaving 13 men on base as Dylan Cease held the Sox scoreless through five. It added up to yet another home field dud as the Jays won 6-1 at Fenway Park.
Tolle got the ball in the top of the first inning and George Springer walked to start. Ernie Clement struck out swinging but Vladimir Guerrero Jr forced Springer at second. Alejandro Kirk flied out to center to end the inning. Dylan Cease got the ball in the bottom of the first and Masataka Yoshida grounded out to short to start. Ceddanne Rafaela got a base hit to right and Wilyer Abreu walked, but Willson Contreras struck out swinging. Jarren Duran reached on a dropped up up by Cease to load the bases...but naturally Caleb Durbin flied out to center to end the inning. Bad teams find ways to lose.
Kazuma Okamoto struck out swinging to start the top of the second and Nathan Lukes lined out to left. Davis Schneider was rung up for strike three to end the inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second and Marcelo Mayer did the same. Wong walked and promptly stole second, but Yoshida grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Jays struck first in the top of the third as Andres Gimenez looked to have been tagged out on a double to start. The Jays challenged and Gimenez was ruled safe. Myles Straw flied out to right to move Gimenez to third and Springer hit a sac fly to right to score Gimenez, putting the Jays up for good. Clement struck out swinging to end the inning with the game already over, 1-0 Jays.
Rafaela got a lucky double to left to start the bottom of the third but naturally Abreu struck out swinging. Contreras struck out swinging and Duran grounded out to second to end the inning.
Guerrero Jr flied out to center to start the top of the fourth and Kirk struck out swinging. Okamoto walked but Lukes grounded out to first to end the inning. Durbin lined out to center to start the bottom of the fourth and Kiner was retired on a swinging bunt in front of the plate. Somehow Mayer walked and Wong got a base hit to left, but naturally Yoshida grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Jays finished off Tolle in the top of the fifth as Schneider hit a home run all the way back to Toronto. Gimenez then went back to back with a home run into the Charles River to ice the game. Straw grounded out to second but Springer got a base hit to left. Clement flied out to left but Springer swiped second. Guerrero Jr took strike three to end the inning with the Jays up 3-0. That was it for Tolle who allowed 3 runs on 4 hits in 5 innings. Too bad the Sox can't score.
Rafaela took strike three right down the middle to start the bottom of the fifth but Abreu walked. Abreu stole second but Contreras struck out swinging. Duran flied out to center to end the inning.
Tommy Kahnle came in to take a beating in the top of the sixth as Kirk flied out to center to start. Okamoto walked and Lukes got a base hit to right to move him to third. Schneider doubled to center to score Okamoto but Gimenez popped up to third. Straw grounded out to third to end the inning with the Jays up 4-0.
Jeff Hoffman came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Durbin grounded out to third to start. Kiner struck out swinging and Mayer grounded out to third to end the inning.
Greg Weissert came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Springer flied out to left to start. Clement also flied out to left and Guerrero Jr grounded out to third to end the inning. Tyler Rogers came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Wong greeted him with a base hit to right. Naturally Yoshida flied out to left and Rafaela popped up to first. Abreu popped up to short to end the inning.
Ryan Watson came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Kirk popped up to first to start. Okamoto popped up to short and Lukes flied out to center to end the inning. Tommy Nance came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Contreras struck out swinging to start. Duran belted his 12th home run of the year to break up the shutout but Durbin popped up to short. Kiner got a base hit to center and Mayer walked. Sox manager Chad Tracy pinch hit Mickey Gasper for Wong and Toronto countered by bringing in Louis Varland to face him. Naturally with two men on Gasper struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 4-1.
Naturally the Jays struck back in the top of the ninth as Schneider hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Gimenez struck out swinging but Straw walked. Springer then hit a home run all the way back to Toronto to increase the lead. Clement hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Jays up 6-1.
Yoshida got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the ninth but Lukes robbed Rafaela with a big jumping catch. Abreu struck out swinging but Contreras walked. Once again with two men on, Duran struck out swinging to end the game. The Jays had won the game 6-1.
Jays win
Jackass of The Night is Willson Contreras. He was 0 for 4 with a golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts. The Sox as a team left 13 men on.
Unclutch Jackass
The Good:
Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 5.
Jarren Duran was 2 for 5 with a home run.
Marcelo Mayer walked twice in four plate appearances.
Connor Wong was 2 for 2 with a walk and a stolen base.
Greg Weissert pitched a scoreless inning.
The Bad:
Caleb Durbin was 0 for 4.
Mickey Gasper struck out as a pinch hitter.
Tommy Kahnle allowed a run in the sixth inning.
Ryan Watson allowed 2 runs in 2 innings.
The Ugly:
Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 5.
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked twice and stole a base.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Payton Tolle took the loss but allowed just 3 runs in 5 innings off 4 hits and 2 walks.
Final Thoughts:
Winless all season when trailing by multiple runs, winless all season when trailing going into the ninth, 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and 13 men left on base. That right there is why they're one of the worst teams in baseball. Its one thing to have a horrific offense that doesn't even get on base, its another to outhit your opponent and lose by 5 runs. We might be seeing the end of not only Craig Breslow but some of the players as well. At lot of people are jumping on the "blow it up" bandwagon and who can blame them? If they trade Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray and Aroldis Chapman for a lot of prospects, at least they have something to build toward next year, especially if anybody they get in return is major league ready. The worst part about it is the Sox usually have the pitching to beat anyone in the league, they just can't hit when it matters. The loss dropped the Sox to 29-41, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow evening when Jake Bennett (1-2) takes on Braydon Fisher of Toronto. The game begins at 6:45 PM at Fenway Park.
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