All you need to know, in quickie form. about the Red Sox' win over Toronto, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Sox bust out: How different was Monday night's output from the Red Sox' bats? Over the weekend, the Red Sox scored a grand total of just six runs over three games at Yankee Stadium, losing two of them. But in the first inning alone Monday night, the Sox erupted for eight runs, including three homers in the top of the first for the first time in franchise history. The pounding didn't stop there, either. After sending 11 men to the plate in the first, the Sox had nine batters head to the plate in the second while scoring three more runs. In two innings, then, the Sox almost doubled their series output in New York. The Sox made sure that almost all of their 14 hits on the night did damage, too, amassing 10 extra-base hits with a season-high six homers and four doubles. Five different Red Sox hitters went deep, with Kike Hernandez hitting two and J.D. Martinez enjoyed a four-hit night. (The Jays collected 11 hits on their own, nearly matching Boston's total, though only three of them were for extra bases. It may not have served as payback for the weekend series at Fenway last month when the Jays teed off for 13 homers over the course of two games. But it did enable the Sox to snap a two-game losing streak and capture the opener of the three-game series.
Pivetta welcomes the support: Every starting pitcher likes to get run support, but Nick Pivetta got an embarrassment of riches. Before he even took the mound in Buffalo, the Red Sox batted around and provided him with eight runs of backing. Then, after he finished up the first inning, the Red Sox went right back at, tacking on three more runs in the second, spotting him an 11-0 cushion. When that happens, Pivetta noted, "our job goes to going out, putting up zeros and competing and getting the team back in the dugout as quick as possible so they can continue what they're doing.'' For the most part, Pivetta did that -- except for the fourth, when he labored through 27 pitches and yielded four runs to the Blue Jays. But after that, Pivetta found himself again and was able to get the Sox into the seventh inning, leaving just seven outs for the team's relievers to get.
TURNING POINT
Seeing that the Sox were up 8-0 in the very first inning, we'll have to find something early. How about Hunter Renfroe's grand slam -- his first of the season and second for the team this year? The Sox were already up 2-0 but Renfroe's blast enlarged the lead to a more one-sided margin of 6-0 and resulting in Toronto's starting pitcher Ross Stripling trudging off the mound, unsure of what had hit him.
TWO UP
Danny Santana: Fresh off a brief rehab assignment and an IL stint, Santana was activated, started at first and had one of his best games of the season, with a double, a homer and three RBI.
Kike Hernandez: The leadoff man had 10 total bases with two homers and a double and now has seven homers in his last 18 games.
ONE DOWN
Xander Bogaerts: Funny those things work: On Sunday night, with two doubles, the shortstop was about the only Sox player to do any damage; on Monday, with the rest of the lineup smoking, Bogaerts somehow went 0-for-5.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I didn't think I got it, I just thought maybe it would be over (the left fielder's) head. But it felt good trotting around the bases, feeling like I did something to help the team get some runs on the board early.'' Jarren Duran on his first major league homer.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
* The Red Sox improved to 23-12 within their own division.
* The game marked the ninth time that the Red Sox have hit four or more homers in a game this season.
* For just the second time in the last 37 games, Xander Bogaerts didn't reach base.
* Alex Verdugo has just one hit in his last 18 at-bats.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Blue Jays play the middle game of their series at 7:07 p.m. Tuesday with RHP Garrett Richards (5-5, 4.91) vs. RHP Alex Manoa (2-1, 2.90)