Blue Jays complete Fenway sweep as Red Sox fall to 14 games under .500

It was another frustrating afternoon at Fenway Park for the Red Sox.

Boston was swept by the division-rival Blue Jays on Thursday, dropping the series finale 4-3 and falling to 29-43 on the season. The loss pushed the Red Sox to 14 games under .500 for the first time since 2015 and continued a troubling trend in close games, as they dropped to 1-37 this season when trailing after eight innings.

To their credit, the Red Sox battled back after falling behind 3-0 early, tying the game in the bottom of the eighth and briefly appearing poised to salvage the finale.

Instead, Toronto landed the decisive blow in the ninth when Ernie Clement opened the inning with an infield single that trickled down the third-base line. 

Aroldis Chapman responded by retiring the next two hitters and appeared on the verge of escaping the jam when Brandon Valenzuela lifted a towering pop-up into foul territory near home plate.

But the swirling wind at Fenway created problems. Catcher Connor Wong was unable to make the play, giving Valenzuela new life. The extra opportunity proved costly, as Valenzuela battled through a nine-pitch at-bat before lining an RBI double off the Green Monster to put the Blue Jays back in front, 4-3.

The tough-luck loss spoiled another quality outing from Sonny Gray.

The veteran right-hander extended his streak of quality starts to four, allowing three runs on six hits over seven innings while striking out four. Gray’s only blemishes came via the long ball, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. launched a solo homer in the first inning and Nathan Lukes added another in the seventh.

For Guerrero, it was just his fourth home run of the season and his first since May 17, a 410-foot blast over the Green Monster. Fenway Park has long been one of the slugger’s favorite venues, and he continued that trend Thursday, improving his career line in Boston to .347 (75-for-216) with 12 home runs and 49 RBI.

Toronto’s other run against Gray came in the second inning when Kazuma Okamoto doubled with one out and later scored on an Andrés Giménez sacrifice fly.

Despite the loss, Gray continued to strengthen his All-Star résumé. Through 13 starts this season, the veteran owns a 3.12 ERA across 69 1/3 innings with 55 strikeouts and just 17 walks. He has pitched at least six innings in eight of those outings, and the Red Sox are now 9-4 in games he has started.

Like many players in the Red Sox clubhouse Thursday, Gray didn’t hide his frustration with the team’s struggles this season.

“I can’t speak on behalf of the group but I can speak on behalf of myself,” said Gray following the loss. “It’s very frustrating. We’re not good. We’re just not a good team right now. That’s just a fact.”

Boston’s offense was largely neutralized by Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage, who turned in 7 1/3 strong innings. While he was ultimately charged with three runs, the right-hander controlled the game for much of the afternoon and kept the Red Sox hitters off balance.

Yesavage retired the first nine batters he faced before Mickey Gasper broke up the perfect game bid with a ground-rule double down the right-field line in the fourth inning. Gasper advanced to third on a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt by Ceddanne Rafaela, but Boston couldn’t cash in the opportunity, and the inning ended with the tying run still 90 feet away.

The Red Sox finally got on the board in the seventh. Rafaela ripped a double and later scored when Willson Contreras hit a ground ball to shortstop, trimming Toronto’s lead to 3-1.

Rafaela’s impact wasn’t limited to the batter’s box. In the top of the eighth, Blue Jays left fielder Yohendrick Piñango doubled with two outs, and George Springer attempted to score from first. Rafaela fired a strike from center field to the plate, where Wong made a spectacular diving tag to cut down Springer and keep Boston within striking distance.

Trailing by two in the bottom of the eighth, Isiah Kiner-Falefa ignited the comeback with a solo home run before Caleb Durbin followed immediately with a game-tying blast, knotting the score at 3-3 and giving Fenway Park new life.

For a brief moment, it looked as though the Red Sox had seized all the momentum, but that vanished as quickly as it started.

Valenzuela’s go-ahead RBI double off Chapman in the ninth restored Toronto’s lead and spoiled the comeback attempt. The run was the first Chapman had allowed since April 4 against the Padres, ending a dominant stretch of more than two months without surrendering an earned run. It also marked only the third time all season that the veteran closer had allowed multiple hits in an outing.

Boston never mounted a response in the bottom of the ninth.

Blue Jays left-hander Mason Fluharty needed just three pitches to retire the heart of the Red Sox order. Wilyer Abreu flew out on the second pitch he saw, while Contreras and Jarren Duran each made outs on the first pitch of their at-bats, ending the game with little resistance.

The loss dropped Boston to 29-43 on the season, including a disappointing 12-25 mark at Fenway Park and 6-17 against American League East opponents.

“We need to go on a streak and we need to go on a streak now,” Kiner-Falefa said. “It’s time to go on a streak or we’re going to be having new players in this locker room. We’ve just got to figure it out.

“We got swept at home. Swept at home in division,” he added. “It doesn’t get worse than that.”

Things won’t get any easier for the Red Sox.

After being swept at home by Toronto, Boston will head across the country to open a three-game series against the Mariners in Seattle on Friday night, searching for answers as the season continues to spiral.

“We’ve just gotta win,” Kiner-Falefa said after Thursday’s loss. “There’s too much trying to find a problem and this or that. At this point, we’ve just got to win and we’re not winning. We’ve got to find ways to win and execute. We’re so close every time. But not good enough.”

The Red Sox will hand the ball to left-hander Ranger Suarez (2-3, 3.21 ERA) in the series opener, while Seattle is expected to counter with right-hander Bryce Miller (3-0, 1.54 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET.