Stroman, Blue Jays top Red Sox, 6-1
BOSTON >> Marcus Stroman pitched six shutout innings, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had three hits and threw out a runner at the plate, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 6-1 Sunday.
Danny Jansen hit a two-run single and Eric Sogard a solo homer for the Blue Jays, who won the final two games of the threegame series. Rowdy Tellez added two hits and scored twice.
The Red Sox had won eight of nine after taking the series opener Friday on Christian Vázquez’s two-run, walk-off homer.
Stroman (5-9) held the Red Sox to five singles — three coming consecutively in the second inning when Gurriel made his throw from left field — and struck out six while walking one. It’s the fifth time in his last eight starts that he’s held an opponent to no more than one earned run.
Rick Porcello (5-7) gave up five runs on eight hits over six innings.
The Blue Jays scored single runs in the second and third before adding three more in the sixth for a 5-0 lead.
Unlike the first two games of the series when each team blew a big lead late, Stroman and three relievers made this one stand.
On Friday, the Red Sox trailed 5-1 in the seventh. Toronto fell behind 6-0 and trailed 6-1 in the sev
enth Saturday before coming back against Boston’s beleaguered bullpen.
With Toronto leading 2-0, Porcello balked home a run before Jansen lined his bases-loaded single to left center.
Gurriel cut down Brock Holt trying to score from second easily on Jackie Bradley Jr.’s single with two on and one out.
Brandon Drury’s broken bat RBI single made it 1-0, and Cavan Biggio had a runscoring double.
A young boy seated about 15 rows behind Toronto’s ondeck circle was grazed by a piece of Drury’s bat that broke on his RBI single, sending the barrel flying over the protect netting. The boy was immediately visited by an EMT, and the Red Sox said he received medical attention and stayed in his seat.