BOSTON — The Toronto Blue Jays didn’t even wait 24 hours Saturday to pay the Boston Red Sox back for a comeback victory.
One day after the Red Sox rallied from four runs down to win on a walk-off homer in the 10th inning, the Blue Jays erased a six-run deficit and handed Boston an 8-7 setback in its attempt to close ground in the AL East.
“(Friday night) was a little salt in our wounds,” said Rowdy Tellez, who homered Saturday for Toronto. “It was a good feeling to throw that back at them, especially a team that’s looking to contend in the playoffs.”
Boston scored five times in the second and led 6-0 after three innings before its bullpen blew a save for the 15th time in 31 chances.
Freddy Galvis and Tellez hit back-to-back homers as Toronto scored four in the seventh. The Blue Jays added three in the eighth, as Matt Barnes (3-2) and Ryan Brasier combined to walk four straight with two outs, forcing in the last two runs.
The game began after a 25-minute delay for a sun shower, and Toronto opener Derek Law retired the side in the first. But he struggled after taking J.D. Martinez’s line drive off his foot in the second.
Law remained in the game but walked the next batter, putting runners on first and second before Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run double. Michael Chavis singled him home to make it 3-0.
One out later, Mookie Betts walked and Andrew Benintendi doubled to left to make it 5-0.
Christian Vazquez curled one down the right-field line in the third, hitting the foul pole 302 feet away.
But Red Sox reliever Mike Shawaryn gave almost all of it back in the seventh, allowing a leadoff single to Cavan Biggio before Galvis hit a two-run shot to right. Tellez homered to center and Luke Maile scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-5.
Teoscar Hernandez singled with one out in the eighth, took second on a wild pitch and scored when Biggio singled. Barnes walked Tellez and pinch-hitter Billy McKinney to load the bases.
Brasier came in and walked Eric Sogard to give the Blue Jays their first lead, then walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to make it 8-6.
“That was a bad inning, too,” Red Sox Manager Alex Cora said. “Honestly, a bad game. Offensively we didn’t do too much after we scored all those runs. That’s something that you have to do. … Putting teams away is a must sometimes.”
Betts walked with one out in the ninth, stole second and scored when Xander Bogaerts lofted a high fly to left that fell safely and hopped over the side wall for a double – Bogaerts’ seventh straight game with a double, tying the AL record.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
