The Boston Red Sox had a five run lead Sunday afternoon in hopes of splitting a four game set at Rogers Centre against Toronto, but Matt Barnes allowed a game winning three-run homerun to George Springer in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Blue Jays stormed all the way back to take the series with a 9-8 win. Boston limps back home after a 2-8 road trip.
Boston (65-49) fell behind early on a Corey Dickerson RBI single in the first inning, but bounced back with a JD Martinez RBI double and then run scoring singles by Kevin Plawecki and Kike Hernandez to take a 3-1 advantage in the second. Plawecki added an RBI double in the third, and then him and Martinez sparked a three run half inning to knock Toronto starter Hyun Jin Ryu out of the game in the fourth to make it 7-2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. cut it to 7-4 with his 35th homerun of the season, a two-run shot in the fifth. Bobby Dalbec regained a four run lead for the visitors with an RBI single in the sixth, but that was all the scoring for Boston and led to a late Blue Jays comeback. A Marcus Semien sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Teoscar Hernandez made it 8-6 in the seventh. Barnes entered the game with one runner on base and two outs in the eighth, and walked the nine hitter Reese McGuire. The no doubt game winning homer from Springer into the second deck in left field came on a 2-2 pitch that was left out and over the plate. Jordan Romano pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning as Toronto improves to 60-50.
Barnes (6-4) took the loss and suffered the blown save. Garrett Richards was in line for a win and allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits in 5.0 innings. Martinez had four hits and three RBI, while Plawecki had three hits and three knocked in. Dalbec, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and Jarren Duran also had two hits a piece part of a 16 hit attack. Rafael Dolis (2-3) got the win in relief for Toronto, with Romano picking up his 10th save. Hernandez had three hits, while Springer, Guerrero Jr, and Breyvic Valera had two each. Now four games behind Tampa Bay in the American League East, second place Boston returns home to host those Rays in a three game series starting on Tuesday night. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (8-6, 5.33 ERA) is scheduled to go in the opener for the Sox, against RHP Luis Patino (2-3, 4.42) for Tampa.
On another note before the game on Sunday, the Red Sox announced that left hander Chris Sale will join the team and pitch next Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. Sale, who is coming back after Tommy John surgery, last pitched in a major league game for Boston in August 2019.
