Sox fizzle in finale
Betts hits for cycle but Jays pounce on Porcello
TORONTO — It’s old news when the Red Sox win these days, so their loss to the Blue Jays last night felt like big news.
The 8-5 loss could be traced to a rough and forgettable outing from Rick Porcello, who allowed seven runs, all earned, on six hits, two of them home runs, three walks and five strikeouts in only four-plus innings.
The only bright spot on the night was an individual one. Mookie Betts hit for the cycle for the first time in his career, capping it with a ninth inning home run. He singled in the first, tripled in the second and doubled in the fourth.
The loss snapped the Sox’ sixgame winning streak and was only their sixth loss in the last 31 games.
The 81-35 Red Sox still won the series, 2-1, and will begin a threeday, four-game series in Baltimore tonight.
No wonder after his bad night, Porcello focused on the good: Betts and the lowly Orioles.
“It’s kind of nice on a night when we don’t get the job done we have something good happen,” said Porcello. “He hits for the cycle and we can definitely be excited for him and smile about that and go to Baltimore and do what we know how to do.”
If one can call retiring four batters in a row and seven out of eight settling in, fine, but when Porcello began the fifth after the Red Sox had tied the game in the top of the inning, he became very unsettled.
He allowed a single, an RBI double and a two-run homer (to Randal Grichuk) to give the Blue Jays a 7-4 lead and Sox manager Alex Cora the final excuse to remove him from the game.
“Our guys battled back to get back in the ballgame, they tied it up and I go right back out there and give them three the next inning — that’s not what I want to do and we lost the game because of it,” Porcello said. “I was battling from the get-go, just didn’t have the command I wanted but with our ballclub, our offense, we’re never out of a game. Even if you don’t have your best stuff you try to battle back.”
J.D. Martinez belted his 35th home run of the season (99 RBI) in the fifth.
Got what he needed
Betts was well aware of what he was going after in the ninth against Ken Giles, and his teammates did not let him forget it.
“They just let me know what I needed, it wasn’t like it was one of those unwritten rules where you don’t talk about it,” Betts said. “Everybody was kind of talking about it and letting me know. It was all fun.
“It’s a good day, good day but tough loss — sucks that I did it on a loss, but turn the page and get ready for tomorrow.”
After just missing on a 3-1 Giles pitch and fouling it back, Betts was visibly agitated, which is rare to see from him.
“(The count is) 3-1, we’re down four, he’s going to probably throw a fastball, so that’s the time to try it,” said Betts, who said it was the first time he could admit to trying to hit a homer. “And it seems like when you try to hit home runs, it never happens. It lets me know, you need to stop trying.”
Mystery starter
Because Porcello could not reach the fifth inning, Hector Velazquez had to pitch two innings, throwing the team’s already tentative plans about who exactly will pitch the second game of tomorrow’s doubleheader into more doubt.
“It’s a tough one, the weather — it’s going to help for a little it then it’s not going to help us — it’s a mess, let’s put it that way,” said Cora. “We were better off playing them Monday (the off day) but we’re playing two (tomorrow). We’re not going to make excuses. We’ll find a way and we’ll find ways to win games.” Pomeranz to ’pen
The 2018 season has been a difficult one for Drew Pomeranz.
Yesterday, it entered a completely different phase when Cora decided to take the lefthander out of the rotation.
Brian Johnson will stay in it, and there is not much of an argument to be made for any other decision.
Pomeranz has made 11 starts, and posted a 6.31 ERA with a 1.812 WHIP, while Johnson has made eight, with a 3.21 ERA and 1.333 WHIP, as well as a 6-2 team record in his starts.
Pomeranz is an eight-year veteran on the cusp of free agency, while Johnson is in his third big league season.
Sunday Sale
Chris Sale threw an aggressive bullpen and afterward he and the team said he was good to go for Sunday’s start in Baltimore. Sale’s last outing was July 27, and his shoulder injury came to light four days later.
“I felt a little weird obviously getting off the mound for the first time, spinning some stuff, throwing some changeups, my feel pitches were off a little bit early but it was as expected — arm feels good, that’s the main step probably,” said Sale.
The team’s plan is to keep giving Sale as much rest as possible, including taking advantage of every available off day.