Final: Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 2

On a getaway day with a makeshift lineup and a spot starter, the Red Sox rolled over the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-2, to take the series three games to one.

Ryan Weber, making his first start in almost two years, gave the Sox six strong innings, allowing a single run on just three hits.

Steve Pearce broke out with his best game of the season, collecting three hits including a two-run homer in the ninth, his first homer of the season. Rafael Devers knocked in two runs.

The win was the seventh straight in series finales for the Red Sox.

WHO: Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays
WHEN: 12:37 p.m.
WHERE: Rogers Centre
SERIES TO DATE: Red Sox 2-1
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: Red Sox 3-2
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Ryan Weber (0-0, 1.13) vs. RHP Clayton Richard (0-0, ---).

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

3:26 Three-hit day for Pearce, who hits his first homer of the season.

3:16 Ryan Brasier with his third straight perfect inning, retiring the Jays in order. Hasn't issued a walk in those three appearances after walking four in his prior two innings.

2:58  Eduardo Nunez, getting a rare start, has a nice afternoon with an infield hit, run scored, another single and an RBI.

2:27  Jackie Bradley Jr. showing signs that he's busting out. He's got six hits in the series now, with four of them for extra-bases. Going the other way nicely, which is often a sign that he's about to get hot.

2:09  Sox bust out a bit in the sixth with a run-scoring double to right-center by Rafael Devers, then an RBI single from Steve Pearce. Pearce takes second when the Jays have an ill-advised relay to home, giving the Sox another runner in scoring position with no out. Devers has knocked in six runs in the series so far

2:02  Would expect that's all for Weber, who's at 75 pitches after five innings. Superb spot start -- one run on three hits allowed. Had three 1-2-3 innings out of the five he pitched.

1:40   Steve Pearce a little too casual in making that catch near the warning track, allowing Tellez to advance to second.

1:36   You know you've made a bad decision when *both* managers disagree. Home plate umpire Stu Scheurwater warns both benches after Weber hit Tellez with a pitch in the backside. Really bad read on the part of the umpire, with players in both dugouts laughing at the call.

1:09    Ryan Weber does a nice job limiting the damage. After three straight hits to start the inning, works out of jam while allowing just one run.

12:58 The Red Sox pitching staff will not miss facing Rowdy Tellez. He had two homers Tuesday, a single and homer Wednesday night and a double in his first AB today.

 

LINEUPS



RED SOX

Chavis 1B
Betts DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Pearce LF
Benintendi CF
Vazquez C
Nunez 2B
Bradley RF

BLUE JAYS

Sogard 2B
Guerrero Jr. 3B
Smoak DH
Tellez 1B
Drury LF
Galvis SS
McKinney RF
Jansen C
Davis CF

WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox won in 13 innings Wednesday night, to take a 2-1 lead in the series...The Red Sox have three of their last four and 15 of the last 21...With a win today, the Red Sox can go 5-1-1 in their last seven series...They've also won the last six series finales....The Sox are 3-0 in extra innings on the road this season, and going back to 2016, 15-6 in their last 21 games extra-inning games away from home...The Sox got a homer from Mookie Betts in the 12th inning Wednesday night and a game-winner from Michael Chavis in the 13th. That marked the first time the Sox had multiple go-ahead homers in extra innings since April 29, 1951 in Philadelphia...Chavis also became the first Red Sox rookie to homer in the 13th inning or later since Shea Hillenbrand homered in the 18th inning against Detroit on June 5, 2001 and the first to do in the road since Trot Nixon to hit one on the road. Nixon hit one in the 13th on Sept. 15, 1999 in Cleveland...Rafael Devers has six homers in the last 17 games after failing to hit one in the first 32 games this season...He's also homered in three straight games, the longest streak of his career...The only other Red Sox players in history to hit homers in three straight games at 22 or younger are: Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Rico Petrocelli and Jim Tabor....In the last 21 games, during which the Sox are 15-6, they lead the majors in runs per game (6.62), OBP (.370), walks (107), and are second in batting average (.280) and OPS (.857)….The Red Sox have hit three or more homers in three straight games for the first time since 2016. They haven't hit three or more in four consecutive games since 2003...In the series to far, the Sox have hit 10 homers, the most in a series against Toronto....Boston has won 15 of its last 19 games in Toronto and are 31-12 (.721) overall against the Blue Jays since the start of 2017...The Sox are 10-3 in their last 13 road games and have outscored their opponents 82-50 in that span....Jackie Bradley has an extra-base in each of his last three games (two homers, double). In that span, he's collected three RBI and scored four runs...Entering Wednesday's game, the trio of Marcus Walden, Brandon Workman and Matt Barnes had combined to allow one run in the previous 26.1 innings.  Barnes had been unscored upon in his previous nine games, Hembree hadn't allowed a run in his previous 10 outings and Walden hasn't allowed a run in his last eight innings. Then, each one allowed a run in the extra-inning victory...Andrew Benintendi carries a six-game hitting streak into the game....Pearce has hit in three straight...Mitch Moreland has three RBI in his last three games...This is Ryan Weber's first start as a member of the Red Sox...His last start in the big leagues also came in Toronto, on May 113, 2017, while pitching for Seattle...Only three Jays -- Freddie Galvis, Luke Maile and Justin Smoak have ever faced Weber before and are a combined 0-for-5....Steve Pearce is 0-for-5 with three strikeouts against Toronto starter Clayton Richard.