TORONTO – A single to left field by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gave the Toronto Blue Jays a wild 6-5 victory over the rival Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
Pinch hitter Alejandro Krik started the final inning with a sharp single to left. Then, George Springer walked so Bo Bichette could score the tying run with a single to right. Guerrero then bounced a grounder into left field to score Bichette.
After Rob Refsnyder tied the game with his home run off Blue Jays reliever Trent Thornton, the Red Sox got the winning run in the eighth inning.
Toronto reliever Tim Mayza issued a walk to Xander Bogaerts. He advanced to second on Alex Verdugo’s single to center and scored on Christian Vazquez’s single to left.
Toronto second baseman Santiago Espinal bailed his team out later in the eighth inning, catching a line drive by Christian Arroyo to double off Vazquez at second base with the bases loaded.
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The Blue Jays (42-32) have won the first two games of a three-game set against the Red Sox (42-33).
The Red Sox came to Toronto as one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball, having won 11 of 13 starts and seven in a row.
The home team built a 3-0 lead in the first inning. After successive one-out walks to Bichette and Guerrero Jr, Teoscar Hernandez gave up a double to Bichette. Matt Chapman then scored Guerrero and Hernandez with a double off the top of the left field fence.
The Red Sox scored their first run in the second inning on a line drive home run to left field by infielder Trevor Story. Blue Jays center fielder Raimel Tapia kept Boston’s leadoff hitter Verdugo off the bases with a catch in left center to please most of the 27,140 in attendance at the Rogers Centre.
Toronto restored its three-run lead when Espinal gave up a single to Lourdes Gurriel Jr, who hit a double with one out.
The Red Sox made it 4-2 in the fifth inning. Vazquez opened with a single to center, moved to third on Franchy Cordero’s double and scored on Refsnyder’s grounder to second.
Both Toronto starter Ross Stripling and his Boston counterpart Michael Wacha lasted five innings, with Stripling giving up only two runs on five hits, compared to Wacha’s four runs on seven hits.
Tyler Danish (2-1) took the loss for the visitors. Toronto closer Jordan Romano (2-2) recorded the victory.
BULLPEN RELIEF.
The Blue Jays could sign 39-year-old right-handed reliever Sergio Romo as soon as Wednesday. He auditioned for a spot in Toronto’s relief corps with a bullpen session Tuesday and was scheduled to undergo a physical Tuesday night.
The three-time World Series champion with the San Francisco Giants became a free agent after being released by the Seattle Mariners last week.
COMING SOON
Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah (9-2, 2.05) is scheduled to start Wednesday’s finale against Canada’s Nick Pivetta (8-5, 3.25). Pivetta, 29, is originally from Victoria, B.C.
Toronto opens a four-day, five-game Canada Day weekend series at home against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 28, 2022.
2022 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca