Just when it looked like the Toronto Blue Jays were going to hold onto a 3-0 lead, the Boston Red Sox came back, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat as they won in 10 innings, 6-5. With this loss, the Jays have dropped five straight and seven of their last eight.
Bowden Francis (8-5, 3.30) took the ball for the Blue Jays as Brayan Bello (14-8, 4.49) did for the Red Sox.
Francis tossed 5 scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and walking one while punching out four. Bello lasted 6 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, walking two and striking out four. Both starters were handed no decisions.
The Blue Jays got on the board first, taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd thanks to a two-RBI double from Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Nathan Lukes extended the Toronto lead to 3-0 with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 5th.
The Red Sox would start to make their comeback in the top half of the 7th, threatening with the bases loaded and two away. Ceddanne Rafaela cut the Blue Jays’ lead to 3-2 when he drove in two runs with a single.
Although the Blue Jays escaped with the lead, they wouldn’t in the 8th. A fielder’s choice from Masataka Yoshida would push across Romy Gonzalez to tie the game at three.
Both sides would go scoreless in the 9th, so extra innings was needed in this one.
The Red Sox would jump out to a 4-3 lead, thanks to a go-ahead RBI double from Trevor Story in the top of the 10th. Later in the inning, a ground out from Connor Wong would push a fifth run across for Boston. Then an RBI single from Vaughn Grissom would extend the Red Sox’s lead to 6-3.
The Blue Jays wouldn’t go away quietly, as Leo Jimenez led off the inning with an RBI double to make it 6-4. The Jays would make it 6-5 after Alejandro Kirk drew a bases-loaded walk. Unfortunately for the Jays, that was all they could get as Addison Barger lined out to end the game, and Boston held on for a 6-5 comeback victory.
Kevin Gausman (13-11, 3.91) will get the start as he tries to help the Blue Jays end their disappointing 2024 on a high note while the Red Sox will send rookie Richard Fitts (0-0, 0.00) to make his fourth career start on Wednesday night.
