TORONTO -- Not even Mookie Betts hitting for the cycle could save the Red Sox.
Betts singled in the first, tripled in the second, doubled in the fourth and homered in the ninth to become the first Red Sox player in three years to hit for the cycle, but that couldn't overcome a poor outing by starter Rick Porcello.
Six days after tossing a one-hit complete game against the Yankees, Porcello was cuffed around for seven runs in four-plus innings, as the Red Sox saw their six-game winning streak snapped with an 8-5 defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Sox took a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but Porcello gave it right back in the bottom of the inning after walking the first two batters he faced. He allowed solo runs in the second and third, and after the Sox tied it at 4-4 in the top of the fifth, Porcello again couldn't hold things, yielding a single, double and two-run homer to Teoscar Hernandez.
8:40 Just after the Red Sox tied it with two runs in the top of the fifth, Porcello gives back the lead with a leadoff single to Devon Travis and a run-scoring double to center by Justin Smoak. Not Porcello's night, by any stretch.
8:31 J.D. Martinez homers for the second time this series, bringing the Red Sox back to within a run. That also gives him a major league-leading 99 RBI
8:03 Brock Holt has hit a wall. His first two at-bats tonight have each ended innings and he's stranded four baserunners total. Since the start of the last homestand, he's hitting just .086 (3-for-35).
7:44 This has never been a favorite ballpark for Rick Porcello and tonight is no different. He came in with a career ERA of 4.87 here and had what was arguably the worst start of his Red Sox career here on Canada Day (July 1) a few years back. He's also been atypically wild, with three walks among the first eight hitters faced. All three have scored.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays
WHEN: 7:07 p.m.
WHERE: Rogers Centre
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox have won seven in a row and, incredibly, 25-of-30 to vault to the best record in baseball and a nine-game lead over second-place New York. This is the final game of the series between the teams, with the Sox having won the first two and 12 of 14 in the head-to-head meetings. Rafael Devers is out of the lineup, as planned, to make sure that the artificial turf surface here doesn't present a problem for his strained hamstring, which forced him to the DL 11 days ago. Devers returned with a bang Wednesday, belting a double and a two-run homer. With a lefty on the mound for the home team, Steve Pearce gets the start at first base after Mitch Moreland was the starter in the first two games. The Sox are 28-8 in series finales and 20-4 on getaway days.
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Rick Porcello (14-4, 3.84) vs. LHP Ryan Borucki (1-2, 2.30)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Benintendti LF
Pearce 1B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Nunez 3B
Holt 2B
Leon C
Bradley CF
BLUE JAYS
Granderson DH
Travis 2B
Smoak 1B
Grichuk RF
Solarte 3B
Hernandez LF
Martin C
Diaz SS
Pillar CF
NEWS AND NOTES
- Alex Cora announced that LHP Drew Pomeranz will leave the starting rotation and work out of the bullpen. Pomeranz has made 11 starts this season and is 1-5 with a 6.31 ERA. Most recently, he walked five in just 4.2 innings on Tuesday night. "I talked to him today,'' said Cora. "(Brian Johnson) is starting in Philly. (Pomeranz) took the news (professionally). He understands. Like I told him, he's still a big part of what we're trying to accomplish, either in the bullpen or back in the rotation. We need this guy to be good and he knows it. He's working hard to do that. He threw a bullpen today. They kept talking about mechanics and trying to get him where he's comfortable and he's productive. Drew Pomeranz is an important piece of this team.''
- The Sox don't have a starter announced for one of the two games set for Saturday as part of day-night doubleheader in Baltimore. David Price will pitch one game. The other could either be handled by the bullpen, or be a spot start for someone. "We'll have to see who we use (Thursday night),'' said Cora, "and also, we'll have to see the weather (in Baltimore). We haven't made that decision.'' The Sox, it seems, would like to avoid calling up someone from Pawtucket to make that start, because although MLB rules allow teams to add a 26th player on doubleheader days, Cora would prefer that to be a position player to provide bench depth.