Red Sox spoil a Monster moment
Bautista takes over second in career runs with Jays, before Boston pounds Estrada
BOSTON— There were just two highlights of the night for Blue Jays fans on Wednesday in a 10-7 loss at Fenway Park. One came early and one came late.
The first highlight was that Jose Bautista got to cross one more item off his personal bucket list of things to do before the end of his Toronto tenure.
In his first at-bat, Bautista turned on a Rick Porcello fastball and launched a two-run homer into the Monster seats in left field to give the Jays a short-lived three-run lead. It was his 23rd home run of the season and the 288th of his Blue Jays career. He scored his 790th run as a Jay, moving past Vernon Wells into second place in franchise history. Then the Jays had to wait until the ninth.
The second highlight was the continued hot hitting of Teoscar Hernandez, who smacked a two-run homer over the left field stands into the street. It was the eighth homer in September for the man who might be replacing Bautista in right.
It was a Fenway Park type of ball game. Pitching was abused. There were a combined 13 runs and 16 hits in the first three innings, which took one hour and 27 minutes to complete.
The lead went back and forth early on. The key moment for the Sox came leading off the third inning when Hanley Ramirez, anticipating a changeup on a 2-2 pitch, demolished a 77 miles-per-hour Estrada offering over the Green Monster in left and into the parking lot across the street. That gave the Sox a 5-4 lead.
Estrada allowed hits to three of the next four batters and was gone, saddled with his shortest outing of the season — 21⁄ innings — just two
3 starts after signing his $13-million contract extension for 2018.
It was an all-night grind for Estrada against a grinding Red Sox lineup. He was forced to throw 80 pitches and 55 strikes to just 17 Sox batters, while striking out just two. It was a grind.
It was no walk in the park for defending Cy Young winner Rick Porcello either. The Red Sox starter allowed five runs in 52⁄ innings. He
3 was replaced in the sixth by old Jays friend David Price, who has been reborn late in the Sox season, after returning from an extended stint on the DL with left elbow inflammation. He has stepped in for the moment as
> RED SOX 10 > BLUE JAYS 7
an Andrew Miller type reliever, albeit more highly paid, but he may be needed back in the rotation for the playoffs.
For Jays manager John Gibbons, there was always the bright side of being able to further look at some of the young, rookie relievers that have been called up for their first look at the major leagues. He used Luis Santos, Tim Mayza, Carlos Ramirez and Chris Rowley against a good lineup Wednesday night.
“I think that does wonders,” Gibbons said. “A big part of the big leagues is that initial shock of getting there. It’s baseball, but it’s a totally different atmosphere. This is what it’s all about. This is where the big money is. This is where all the focus is and the hype.
“There’s those third decks (in stadiums). It’s something different than they’re used to. At least they know what to, unlike when a guy breaks camp as a rookie, first time up. I can remember doing that with the Mets and it was a little bit of a shock. I think that helps.”
The Jays head to New York and, after an off-day Thursday, will open a three-game series to wrap up the regular season that might, by that time, be meaningless for both teams.