BOSTON GETS IT BACK
No late-game heroics this time around as Red Sox’s Betts hits two-run shot to ice Jays
The Blue Jays and Red Sox went at each other like a couple of prize fighters on Wednesday night with the Bostonians landing the big blow late to win it.
Twice the Red Sox took the lead and twice the Jays came back to tie it up. In the sixth, the Jays went ahead 3-2. But in the seventh, Boston outfielder Mookie Betts smacked his second home run of the game, a two-run shot, to give Boston the 4-3 win.
No late-gamer heroics on this night.
Jays starter Aaron Sanchez went six innings, giving up two runs and three hits and struck out eight, but also hit two batters. His counterpart, Boston lefty Eduardo Rodriguez lasted 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on six hits, striking out three.
Sanchez did not get off to a good start. In fact, the very first batter, Betts, welcomed him with a homer. There’s been some concern over the loss of velocity in Sanchez’s fastball, but the shot Betts smacked over the left field wall came off a 95.MPH two seam fastball. Four batters later, Sanchez struck out
Rafael Devers with a 96.1 MPH four seam fastball.
The Jays struck back in the bottom of the inning. Steve
Pearce led off with a double and scored when Justin Smoak hit an infield single to third which Devers threw wide to first, allowing Pearce to score.
Boston jumped ahead 2-1 in the fifth when Brock Holt, who had three hits on the night, smacked a double to left-centre, scoring Jackie Bradley Jr. and moving
Christian Vazquez to third, all with none out. After walking Andrew Benintendi to load the bases, pitching coach Pete Walker came out to have a chat with Sanchez and whatever he said seemed to work as Hanley Ramirez ended the inning by hitting into a 4-6-3 DP.
The Jays tied it with two out in the bottom of the fifth when Pearce shot a Rodriguez full-count offering to left to score Lourdes Gurriel Jr. from second.
Sanchez hit J.D. Martinez to lead off the sixth, his second hit batter of the night, but then he settled in and struck out the side, Devers,
Eduardo Nunez and Bradley. Third baseman Yangervis
Solarte led off the sixth with a monster shot to the second deck in left to put Toronto ahead 3-2, before Betts’ second homer in the seventh.
FROM GOAT TO GREAT
You couldn’t blame Grandy if he thought Blue Jays fans were less than dandy.
Or, to be more precise, jerks.
In Curtis Granderson’s first regular season game with the Jays — March 29, opening day at the Rogers Centre — on his first play, in the first inning, he lost a line drive hit to left field in the lights, dropped the ball and picked up an error.
The fans reacted with the Bronx cheer — loud and pouring with sarcasm.
Welcome to Toronto big guy.
Fast forward four weeks and the 37-year-old outfielder is the toast of the town — his walk off home run to lift to the Jays to a 4-3 victory against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday confirming that status.
Granderson, who signed basically to platoon in left field with Steve Pearce this season, has pretty well exceeded all expectations in the first month of the season — manager John Gibbons said as much prior to Wednesday’s tilt against the Red Sox. He has recorded eight RBI in his last five games and is now batting .325 (13-for-40) with eight walks (.438 OBP) and 11 RBI as the lead off batter. He is second in the AL in OPS while batting first (1.088) after Betts (1.142 — heading into Wednesday’s game). Pearce is also doing well as a lead off batter — .323 average, .963 OPS.
“We knew he was going to have great at-bats, we knew he had raw power, we knew he’d be an incredible teammate,” said Toronto GM Ross
Atkins. “But I think the thing that’s surprising to me is having such high expectations as a teammate and as a person and high expectations of consistency and exceeding those because I didn’t think that was possible. He’s been phenomenal.”
M.A.S.H. UNIT UPDATES
Gibbons said that third baseman Josh Donaldson
(right shoulder inflammation) has been playing loss toss and is going to start throwing to the bases soon. “And if all goes well, he’ll play in some games down there (soon),” said the manager ... Short stop Troy
Tulowitzki (bone spurs, right heel) consulted with surgeon
Dr. Tom Clanton in Vail, Co. on Monday and is “progressing well” with all goals, including range of motion and strength, and has been cleared to begin “light baseball activities” this week including hitting off the T, playing catch and taking stationary ground balls. Tulowitzki will be re-evaluated in four weeks by Dr. Clanton.