Red Sox pounce on struggling Jays starter

RED SOX 5, BLUE JAYS 1

Until Wednesday night, there wasn’t much about historic Fenway Park that intimidated Aaron Sanchez.

Not the vaunted Green Monster that dominates left field. Not the good-hitting team he usually faces here. And not the prospect of playing in a contest with added meaning.

Past successes here tumbled quickly from memory in the young pitcher’s latest trip to the mound as Sanchez’s command must have been left behind in the cramped visitor’s clubhouse.

The result was a disarmingly easy 5-1 Boston victory allowing the Sox to take a 2-1 lead in this four-game series between the first- and last-place teams in the American League East.

It certainly was another demoralizing result for a Jays team unable to find any traction on offence nor from its starting rotation.

Sanchez was shaky from the opening batter and especially through the first two innings in which no less than eight Red Sox runners reached and four of them crossed the plate.

Sensing the struggles from Sanchez, the Boston batters were barely swinging, forcing the recovering righty to throw 49 pitches through two innings. That too was an ominous development, given the weary arms chilling in the visitor’s bullpen.

With such a slow start and an offence that’s essentially dormant, it was clear early that this was going to be a beat down for the Blue Jays.

The demoralizing night for Sanchez was in sharp contrast to his previous visits to Boston. In fact, in six career starts at Fenway, he had never lost (3-0) and owned a 2.05 ERA.

It was just the eighth start for Sanchez in a season interrupted by three trips to the disabled list. But it was also his third start back from the latest DL stint.

And it certainly was a dramatically different outcome than his most recent start here. Sanchez was on the mound last Oct. 2 for a 2-1 Jays win on the day the team clinched a wild-card berth.

With losses the past two days, the Jays are now a prohibitive 10 games behind the Red Sox in the division and 5.5 games out of a wild-card spot.

Sanchez settled down some after the first two innings, but with his pitch count climbing, his night was done after four innings. Though only three of the runs he allowed were earned, Sanchez gave up six hits and five walks.

NOW WHAT?

From manager John Gibbons to pitching coach Pete Walker to general manager Ross Atkins, the Jays were hoping for much more from Sanchez on Wednesday.

The expectation was that in his third start back from his latest medical leave, he would return to the form that earned him the ERA title last season. With that not happening, beyond Marcus Stroman and perhaps J.A. Happ, the Jays’ starting rotation is in rough shape.

As Walker mused earlier in the week, the team desperately needs a nice clean run through the starting five. Hard to imagine that happening based on recent efforts.