TORONTO -- All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 10-5 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday night, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Johnson better than his line score: For the second-straight start, spot starter Brian Johnson allowed five runs. But on this night, he gave the Sox what they needed -- five shutout innings to begin as the Red Sox kept building their lead, and seven innings of length to help take some of the load over an overtaxed bullpen. "I felt like I pitched a lot better than my line score shows,'' he said.
"I know people are going to ask, 'Why did he pitch the seventh?''' said Alex Cora. "But we needed seven. And for him to go seven innings, that was excellent for us.''
In his last two innings, Johnson was tagged for a two-run homer and a three-run homer which inflated his ERA, but likely were the result of sitting around during some long innings while his teammates added on. Johnson has struck out 17 hitters in his last 12 innings.
"I think he's using his fastball in different spots,'' offered Cora, "and then he's able to expand down in the zone. He's kind of like (Matt Barnes), where he gets that call with the breaking ball up and then you have hitters looking up in the zone, and then he's throwing the curveball down, and his slider a little more.''
Devers returns with a bang: If Rafael Devers was suffering from any rust at the plate following a 10-day DL stint, he hid it well. Returning to the lineup, Devers had a sharp double, a walk and a two-run homer in his first three plate appearances. "It felt good,'' said Devers of his return. "I gave 100 percent on every play and nothing bothered me. I'm just happy to be back and contributing and help the team.'' Devers was helped by the fact that he got four at-bats in Lowell on a one-game rehab assignment in Lowell. "The few at-bats that I did have,'' said Devers, "it was good for me to see (live) pitching because I hadn't seen pitching in a little while, just from timing purposes and to get everything back in rhythm. It was good.'' If Devers can provide some run production, he can help lengthen the lineup in the bottom of third of the order, where the Red Sox have gotten inconsistent offense from both Jackie Bradley Jr. and Sandy Leon.
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1027357691146956800
Bogaerts showing no ill-affects: When he was hit on the hand a little more than a week ago, Xander Bogaerts was understandably concerned, since the same circumstance last July sent him into a second-half tailspin when he had difficulty driving the ball and essentially was forced to hit one-handed for the second half of the season. But Bogaerts has seemingly overcome that problem this year, as Wednesday night demonstrated. He hit a deep sacrifice fly to right in the third inning, and sandwiched around two walks, drove a hard-hit double the opposite way. That's a good sign that Bogaerts isn't limited at the plate, just eight days after being drilled in the same right hand.
TURNING POINT
The Red Sox began turning it on in the third inning, sending eight men to the plate and scoring four times. They would continue to add on, scoring runs in four of the next five innings, but the 4-0 head start proved too much for the Jays, who, it seems, don't need much incentive to give up these days.
TWO UP
Andrew Benintendi: Somewhat quietly, Benintendi has hit nearly .400 (.398) over his last 24 games, with nights like last night: two walks, a sacrifice fly and two doubles.
J.D. Martinez: Martinez had another one of his typical games, reaching base four times in five plate appearances, including a double, a run scored and an RBI.
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1027380803729334272
ONE DOWN
Jackie Bradley Jr.: Bradley has a rough night at the plate, going 0-for-4 (with a walk) while striking out twice and grounding into a double play.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I don't know. I have no idea. Maybe it's because I'm starting on Chris's day and he gets a lot of those.''
— Johnson, who has 17 strikeouts in his last two starts, both of which came as he filled in for Chris Sale.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The Red Sox improved to 12-3 against the Blue Jays this season
- The Sox have won six straight, 10-of-11, and 25-of-30.
- Boston improved to 39-19 on the road.
- The Sox have already won this series and haven't lost one since July 1.
- Ten of the 16 homers Devers has hit this year have come on the road.
- Andrew Benintendi posted his 40th multi-hit game.