All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Sale beaten by the long ball: It seemed strange to note, but halfway through the season, Chris Sale, of all people, leads Red Sox pitchers with 16 gopher balls. That was a problem Wednesday night, too, as all five runs off him were the result of homers. He was tagged for a solo shot by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the third inning, a two-run belt by Danny Jansen in the fourth and, finally, another two-run blast by Brandon Drury in the fifth.
https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1146571443091755010
By contrast, Sale allowed just 11 homers all of last season. Most of these homers are coming off fastballs, which makes sense since fastball location -- or lack thereof -- has been Sale's biggest problem this season. On at least two occasions Wednesday, Sale didn't get the ball where he wanted to with fastballs and paid the price when the pitches were hit out of the ballpark.
https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1146575457367842816
His most dominant stretch earlier this year came when he kept the ball in the ballpark, allowing just four homers in the span of nine starts. In that same stretch, his ERA was 2.09. In the last three games, as he has struggled each time out, he's allowed a total of six homers -- or, two more than he did over the course of his previous nine starts combined.
Red Sox 3-4-5 quieted: The Red Sox had a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning that Sale ultimately couldn't protect. But they got next to nothing from their 3-4-5 hitters in the lineup -- Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez and Andrew Benintendi -- who combined to go 1-for-12. The lone hit came in the eighth inning when Martinez reached on an infield single that clanged off third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s glove. Bogaerts, named as a deserved replacement to the A.L. All-Star team earlier in the day, had possibly his worst game of the season, fanning all four times, and could be seen trying to work out some mechanical issues with his swing with hitting coach Tim Hyers in the Red Sox dugout. Benintendi, who was hitless in the first game, too, went 0-for-4 Wednesday and is now hitless in his last 12 at-bats. While elevating Rafael Devers to the second spot in the order has worked like a charm, dropping Benintendi to fifth in the lineup hasn't produced the desired results. He looked frustrated in virtually every plate appearance, with two routine flyouts to right and a couple of comebackers to the mound. Benintendi is at his best when he's going the other way, but seemed to be focused on pulling the ball.
Vazquez continues to shine: Alex Cora surprised most everyone with the decision to go with Christian Vazquez behind the plate Wednesday night since, typically, Sale throws to Sandy Leon as his battery-mate. But Vazquez has been wielding such a hot bat of late (five homers in his previous 12 games and two straight) that Cora wanted the extra thump that Vazquez can provide at the plate. The move seemed to pay off in the fourth inning when Vazquez cranked yet another homer -- this one to straightaway center -- to give the Red Sox a 3-1 lead. Vazquez later added a leadoff single in the seventh and took third on a double by Michael Chavis, but was ultimately stranded when the Sox could deliver either baserunner. He's now hit safely in each of his last 14 starts and has reached base safely in his last 18. And this is no small sample size, either -- Vazquez is now hitting .340 over his last 45 games dating back exactly two months to May 4.
TURNING POINT
Not much doubt about this one: a first-pitch fastball to Brandon Drury in the sixth, which he clubbed to deep center for a tiebreaking two-run homer. Sale was an out away from getting out of the inning tied, but instead, was beaten by the Jays' No. 9 hitter.
https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1146586187387330560
ONE UP
Marcus Walden: Walden has been spotty for the past few weeks, but turned in an impressive 1.1 innings, allowing the Red Sox to get into the eighth inning with a chance.
TWO DOWN
Steven Wright: Still working his way back, Wright had a rocky eighth inning, with two walks, a hard-hit double and a sacrifice fly which produced an insurance run.
Jackie Bradley Jr.: Bradley has been among the hottest hitters in the game the last few weeks, but went 0-for-4 on this night.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"It wasn't good, it wasn't good ... a lot of pitches in the zone.'' Alex Cora on Chris Sale's outing.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Xander Bogaerts had a four-strikeout game for the first time in his career.
- The loss was just the second for the Red Sox in their last 11 road games.
- Devers had a two-run single, giving him eight RBI in the first two games of the series.
- For the Red Sox, this was just their second loss in six tries in Toronto this season.