All you need to know, in quickie form. about the Red Sox' 8-0 loss to the Blue Jays, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Lineup rolls over: The Blue Jays don't have a great pitching staff by any means, but you wouldn't know it from watching the game. The Sox got a single with two outs in the first inning from Rafael Devers and then didn't produce another base hit until Brock Holt led off the ninth with an opposite-field single to left. In between, the Sox managed just two baserunners in innings two through eight, with an error allowing Christian Vazquez to reach in the second and Xander Bogaerts drawing a one-out walk in the third. From there, the Jays retired the next 16 hitters in succession. Trent Thornton, who entered the game with a 5.23 ERA, posted four consecutive 1-2-3 innings. The shutout was the second in the last three games. The Sox have managed just four runs in their last 31 innings and have only 10 hits over the last two nights.
Mistakes costly in the fourth: When a team isn't going well, sometimes the smallest miscue can make a big difference. So it was in the third inning. Rafael Devers chased after a ball in shallow left near the foul line, and after positioning himself for the catch, had it roll off his glove for a generously-scored double for Cavan Biggio. Then, reliever Trevor Kelley didn't hold the baserunner and Biggio stole third without a throw, then scored on a sacrifice fly. So instead of having the bases empty and two out, the Sox had allowed a run. The inning unraveled further when Rowdy Tellez homered to right. The runs weren't unearned because Devers wasn't assessed an error -- though he should have been -- but the effect was the same.
Poyner effective in short start: You have to dig deep to find a bright spot for the Sox, but the two innings tossed from Bobby Poyner qualifies for lack of anything else. Poyner retired all six hitters he faced, including two by strikeout. He labored in the first inning, needing 22 pitches to get the first three hitters out, but ultimately did the job. In the second, Poyner was more efficient, retiring the side in order on just 13 pitches. Making it especially impressive was the fact that this was his first "start'' at the big league level. Then again, the Sox have been getting good performances in that quasi-opener role in their many bullpen games. Travis Lakins had two perfect innings against the Yankees last weekend and so did Jhoulys Chacin, striking out four in just two innings of work.
TURNING POINT: The way the Red Sox' offense is slumping, it wasn't going to take much for the Jays to put this one away. So when they started teeing off Ryan Weber in the fifth inning -- collecting four straight hits on just five pitches -- the game was effectively over.
ONE UP:
Mike Shawaryn: After Poyner's two frames, Shawaryn was the only effective reliever of the night, tossing two scoreless innings at the end and not allowing a hit.
ONE DOWN
J.D. Martinez: Martinez has done a lot of damage in Toronto this season, but not this night -- he was hitless in four plate appearances with two strikeouts.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"We're not controlling the strike zone right now...It was an easy game for the (Toronto) pitching staff.'' Alex Cora.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The loss ended a stretch that saw the Red Sox win eight consecutive series in Toronto.
- The Red Sox used seven pitchers in defeat.
- After winning eight of their previous 10 road games before this series, the Sox have now dropped two in a row.
- Red Sox pitchers have allowed seven homers to Rowdy Tellez in 11 games.