The Toronto Blue Jays took the rubber match of their series against the Boston Red Sox, once again thanks to the efforts of Bowden Francis.
Bowden Francis (7-3, 4.02) took the mound in the series finale for the Blue Jays while Kutter Crawford (8-11, 4.19) took the bump for the Red Sox. Francis was dominant, throwing 7 shutout innings, allowing just one hit, walking none and punching out five to earn his eighth victory of the year. Crawford was also good in his own right, lasting 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs over six hits, walking two and striking out three, taking his 12th loss of the year.
On a side note, the Red Sox selected the contract of lefty starter Rich Hill (0-0, 0.00) from Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday. The 44-year-old had not seen big league action since October 1 of the 2023 season when he last pitched for the San Diego Padres. The veteran entered the game and threw 1 1/3 innings, allowing no runs over no hits, walking none and striking out two in his 2024 debut.
To the scoring, the Blue Jays’ bats woke up first, scoring in the top half of the 3rd. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continued his incredible second half with an RBI double to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.
Fast forwarding to the top of the 6th, Ernie Clement doubled the Blue Jays’ lead with an RBI double of his own.
Those two runs would be the only runs the Blue Jays needed, as the Toronto pitchers were lights out all around. Genesis Cabrera (3-2, 3.18) threw a scoreless 8th inning, then Chad Green (4-3, 1.65) tossed a perfect 9th to secure the series and his 16th save in 16 tries this year.
The Blue Jays will look to take their momentum into Target Field as they get ready to take on the Minnesota Twins. Kevin Gausman (12-9, 4.10) will get the ball for the Blue Jays as Pablo Lopez (12-8, 4.26) will do so for the Twins in the first of three games on Friday night.
