Final: Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 1

No late-inning drama this time. None at all, in fact.

The Red Sox were limited to seven hits by Marcus Stroman and three relievers in a sleepy 6-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Rick Porcello had one of his worst outings of the year, tagged for solo runs in the second and third before the Jays stretched their lead with three in the sixth.

The Sox didn't have an extra-base hit until the ninth when Eduardo Nunez led off with a triple.

The loss dropped the Sox to 18-19 at home this season.

 

WHO: Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays
WHEN: 1:05 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SERIES TO DATE: 1-1
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: Boston 5-3
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Rick Porcello (5-6, 4.31) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (4-9, 3.28)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

3:41     Eric Sogard, who wore the Red  Sox out with a four-hit night Friday, homers into the visitor's bullpen.

3:33    Red Sox have two hits since the second inning -- both singles.

3:14    That's all for Porcello, done after 98 pitches and 6 IP. Allowed five runs in what was his worst outing since allowing five to the Yankees in 4.2 IP on June 1.

2:53   Hard shot by Danny Jansen eludes Nunez at third and goes through to LF for two-run single. Jays continue to add to their lead.

2:51    Porcello is charged with a balk, resulting in a run scoring. It's been that kind of weekend.

2:39   On the other hand...Red Sox are doing nothing against  Stroman, who's retired eight in a row.

2:31   Rick Porcello has settled in some, retiring seven of the last eight. Over the last two innings, he's thrown just 15 pitches, too, shortening up his pitch count.

2:14   Eduardo Nunez takes over for Brock Holt at third in the top of the fourth. Holt appeared to have grabbed his hamstring in attempting to score from second in the second inning.

1:51  Jays double their lead with back-to-back two-out hits -- single to CF by Loudes Gurriel Jr. and a double to deep center by Cavan Biggio

1:40 Interim third base coach Andy Barkett gets a little aggressive and sends Brock Holt home on a single by Jackie Bradley Jr. Holt is an easy out at the plate.

1:28 Rowdy Tellez -- there's that name again -- doubles and rides home on a ground ball by Brandon Drury that barely snakes past the infield into right.

LINEUPS:



RED SOX

Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Bogaerts SS
Martinez DH
Holt 3B
Vazquez C
Bradley CF
Chavis 1B
Hernandez 2B

BLUE JAYS

Sogard 2B
Guerrero Jr. DH
Gurriell Jr. LF
Biggio RF
Galvis SS
Grichuk CF
Tellez 1B
Drury 3B
Jansen C

WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox lost Saturday but are 8-2 in their last 10 games...Saturday was the seventh time they lost a game when leading after seven innings; they lost only four such games all of last season...The Sox are 17-7 in series finales this season, including 15-3 in their last 18....The Sox are 33-13 against Toronto since the start of 2017..They're 12-3 in the last 15 home games against the Jays....The Sox have hit at least one double in every one of their 21 games this month, MLB's longest active streak...Earlier this year, the Orioles hit doubles in 25 straight games...Xander Bogaerts has doubled in the last seven games, tying him for the longest such streak in A.L. history...The most recent players to do that were Mitch Moreland and Jose Ramirez, both in 2017....The modest MLB record is eight, held by Yadier Molina in 2016 and Derrek Lee in 2007....Bogaerts leads the A.L. with 26 doubles and is second beyond Pittsburgh's Josh Bell with 27...The Sox have been getting better production from the bottom of their lineup lately. In the first 53 games,, the 6-7-8-9 hitters posted a slash line of .226/.306/.359; in the 25 games since Brock Holt returned to the lineup, those same lineup spots have gone .289/.341/.451...In the last 31 games, Jackie Bradley Jr. has posted a slash line of .296/.387/.611 with 19 RBI and 18 runs scored....Christian Vazquez's 10 homers this season match his career total before this season...In the last 37 games, Vazquez is hitting .339 (43-for-127) in that span, the highest average for a catcher in the A.L....Andrew Benintendi has hit in seven straight, as has Xander Bogaerts......Michael Chavis has an 11-game hitting streak....The Sox are 8-3 in Rick Porcello's last 11 starts.....He's thrown six innings or more in 10 of his last 11 outings....He's limited LHH to a .202 batting average...Porcello has struggled against Toronto in his career (10-11, 5.39), but in his one start against the Jays this year, he allowed  one run on three hits over six innings....Teoscar Hernandez is 2-for-10 with a homer against him in his career while Freddy Galvis is hitless in eight at-bats...Bogaerts is 11-for-33 with two homers against Marcus Stroman while Bradley is just 3-for-24 with seven strikeouts.