Blue Jays storm back from down six for much-needed win in extras over Red Sox
There are so many fires raging around the Blue Jays right now that they needed a night like this. With questions surrounding its lineup and rotation, Toronto rallied from a six-run deficit on Wednesday to beat the Red Sox in 10 innings.
TORONTO – There are so many fires raging around the Toronto Blue Jays right now that they needed a night like this.
During their losses-in-eight-of-nine slide, which ended in dramatic fashion Wednesday night when they rallied from a six-run deficit to beat the Boston Red Sox 7-6 in 10 innings, their offence managed a mere 17 runs and hadn’t scored more than four runs in a game since a six-spot against Atlanta on April 15.
At the same time, their pitching staff, undermined by the lack of a steady fifth starter in Max Scherzer’s continuing absence, is suddenly knee deep in a churn cycle, with Jay for a Day, Casey Lawrence designated for assignment Wednesday to clear space for lefty Eric Lauer.
Add in a setback for Erik Swanson, who experienced forearm tightness just as he was slated to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday and was due to arrive in Toronto for further testing, and the Blue Jays’ already alarmingly thin pitching depth is even more threadbare.
All of those elements seemed set to extend the Blue Jays’ funk before a crowd of 26,498.
Yariel Rodriguez was erratic as the opener to a bullpen day necessitated by the lack of a fifth starter, walking Jarren Duran to open a 29-pitch first, gave up a double to Rafael Devers on which Duran was thrown out at home, and then threw a wild pitch and balked to score Devers before Alex Bregman followed with a solo shot that made it 2-0.
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Lauer — slated to start for triple-A Buffalo at Iowa but instead had his contract selected to lock in a pro-rated portion of his $2.2-million big-league salary — allowed two runs in a 35-pitch second inning before stabilizing the game with three shutout innings after that.
It all seemed for naught as Lucas Giolito, pitching in the majors for the first time since Oct. 1, 2023, after a shaky rehab, flummoxed the Blue Jays for five innings before Carlos Narvaez hit a two-run homer off Chad Green in the top of the sixth to open up a 6-0 lead.
Then, the Blue Jays bats suddenly awoke in the bottom half, George Springer working a two-out walk off Giolito before Daulton Varsho clubbed a changeup 403 feet to right for his first home run of the season and Alejandro Kirk followed up by sending another changeup 424 feet to left. It was the first time this season the team had gotten back-to-back homers and just the second time they went deep more than once in a game.
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Not done there, the Blue Jays tied it against Garrett Whitlock in the seventh on singles by Ernie Clement and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ahead of an Anthony Santander three-run homer.
Finally in the 10th, after consecutive shutout innings from Jeff Hoffman, the Blue Jays caught a break, as Santander lined to centre leading off the frame and Guerrero, the runner at second, saw Ceddanne Rafaela make the catch nonchalantly and dashed for third.
Rafaela’s throw hit Guerrero as he slid into third, allowing him to reach safely, which prompted the Red Sox to intentionally walk both Springer and Varsho.
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Kirk then lined a ball to left-centre off Justin Slaten to cap the madcap victory.
One win won’t solve all of the Blue Jays’ problems, of course, but perhaps it does give them something to build upon.
The fifth starter’s spot comes up twice during the upcoming road trip if the Blue Jays stay on turn, and manager John Schneider again said the club is “trying to avoid really overtaxing the rest of the starters.”
As such, they won’t be able to run bullpen days again, although Schneider wasn’t ready to commit to Lauer, noting “that’s why you have depth. Between him or (Easton) Lucas or (Jake) Bloss, you kind of figure it out between those guys. … He could definitely step in.”
