All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Blue Jays, complete with BSJ insight and analysis:
HEADLINES
Pitching goes from bad to worse: Saturday afternoon was pretty bad, with five homers allowed and seven runs scored. But by comparison, it was a pitching clinic compared to what took place at Fenway Sunday. The Red Sox allowed a season-high 18 runs and were smoked for a franchise-record eight home runs. A career utility infielder was easily -- easily -- their most effective pitcher. Starter Martin Perez turned his second straight poor outing and couldn't get out of the second inning. That left journeyman Ryan Weber to absorb the slings and arrows of a powerful Blue Jays lineup. Weber was knocked around for 11 runs on 13 hits in 5.2 innings pitched. Toronto went from leading 5-1 after two innings to being up 13-1 going into the bottom of the fifth -- and it just got worse from there. The top three spots in the Blue Jays' batting order combined for 10 hits and 10 RBI. Toronto didn't stop scoring late, either, adding two runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth. The Sox pitching staff has been on a downward trajectory for the past week, during which the rotation alone has allowed 40 runs in its last 39 innings.
Lineup offers little resistance: This was going to be a lopsided loss no matter what. But making it feel even worse was how little the Boston lineup produced. The Red Sox were limited to just six hits and it took until the fifth for them to send more than four hitters to the plate in any one innings. Of the four runs scored, two came on solo homers: the first from Xander Bogaerts, the second from Bobby Dalbec. The other two came on a double to left by Kike Hernandez in the fifth inning. The afternoon ended with three of the Sox nine players in the lineup hitting under .200.
TURNING POINT
The Red Sox finally found a pitcher to shut down the Blue Jays lineup, but it took them 16 runs and seven innings to do it. Marwin Gonzalez came on for the eighth and looked like a Cy Young candidate by comparison, retiring Toronto in order and on just 11 pitches. Even more impressive, he threw one pitch as hard as 90 mph and another at 43 mph. Talk about separation!
ONE UP
Bobby Dalbec: Dalbec crushed a solo homer into the CF bleachers for his eighth homer of the year and has four extra-base hits in his last four games.
TWO DOWN
Ryan Weber: Credit for Weber for taking one for the proverbial team. But his outing was borderline embarrassing, allowing 13 hits and 11 runs in 5.2 innings.
Danny Santana: Santana looks totally ineffectual at the plate. He was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and is now 2-for-37 since starting the year 3-for-11.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"Guys just haven't been executing as sharply as they were earlier in the year. It's an ugly stretch and tough run here.'' Pitching coach Dave Bush.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* For the first time in franchise history, the Red Sox allowed at least five homers in consecutive games.
* The last time the Red Sox allowed more than 18 runs was July 25, 2019, when they allowed 19 to the Yankees.
* Xander Bogaerts extended his hitting streak to nine games.
* At 1.1 innings, the outing was the third-shortest of Martin Perez's major league career.
* Marwin Gonzalez has now played seven positions this year -- everywhere but CF and catcher. The last to do so was Steve Lyons in 1991.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Blue Jays close out their four-game series Monday at 7:10 p.m. with RHP Nathan Eovaldi (7-3, 4.11) vs. RHP Alex Manoah (1-0, 3.14)