TORONTO – A header from the left by Vladimir Guerrero Jr gave the Toronto Blue Jays a jubilant 6-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
Sniper Alejandro Krik led the final round with a sharp single shot to the left. Then George Springer walked so that Bo Bichette could knock down the tie with a single swing to the right. Guerrero then hit a cut into the left wing to score for Bichette.
After Rob Refsnyder finished the game with Blue Jays painkiller Trent Thornton, the Red Sox overcame a winning streak in the eighth inning.
Tim Mayza, a Toronto reliever, took Xander Bogaerts for a walk. He finished second on Alex Verdugo’s center single and scored on Christian Vazquez’s left single.
Toronto’s second gunner, Santiago Espinal, defended his team later in the eighth inning, capturing a pass from Christian Arroyo to double Vazquez in second base with loaded bases.
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The Blue Jays (42-32) won the first two games of a three-game set against the Red Sox (42-33).
The Red Sox arrive in Toronto as one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball, having won 11 of their 13 opening games and seven in a row.
The home team created a 3-0 lead in the first half. After successive comebacks against Bichette and Guerrero Jr., Teoscar Hernandez doubled the lead in Bichette. Matt Chapman then scored for Guerrero and Hernandez with a brace at the top of the left fence.
The Red Sox scored their first goal in the second half with a shot straight into the left field from midfielder Trevor Story. Blue Jays quarterback Raimel Tapia kept Boston frontman Verdugo off base with a center-left dive to gratify most 27,140 at Rogers Center.
Toronto restored its three-round lead when Espinal hit singles against Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who hit a winning double.
The Red Sox made it 4-2 in the fifth inning. Vazquez opened the scoring with a goal in the middle, finishing third after a Franchy Cordero brace and netting against Refsnyder to second.
Both Toronto starter Ross Stripling and his Boston partner Michael Wacha lasted five innings, with Stripling surrendering only twice with five hits, compared with four runs on Wacha’s seven hits.
Tyler Danish (2-1) conceded a goal for the visitors. Toronto is closer than Jordan Romano (2-2) registered the win.
BULLPEN RELIEF
The Blue Jays could sign 39-year-old right-hander Sergio Romo as early as Wednesday. He’s auditioned for a spot in Toronto’s cutting corps with a bullpen session on Tuesday and is expected to undergo a physical Tuesday night.
The three-time World Series champion with the San Francisco Giants became a free agent after he was released by the Seattle Mariners last week.
UPCOMING
Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah (9-2, 2.05) is expected to start Wednesday’s final against Canadian Nick Pivetta (8-5, 3.25). 29 year old Pivetta from Victoria, BC
Toronto opens its four-day, five-game Canada Day Weekend series at home against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.
This Canadian Press report was first published on June 28, 2022
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