Members of the Boston Red Sox celebrate a walkoff win in a game earlier this season at Fenway Park. Boston continued their four game series with Toronto on Wednesday night with a 5-4 win. Photo courtesy of Delaney Gardner
Rafael Devers had four RBI including the game winning hit in the eighth inning on Wednesday night, backing another solid start from Eduardo Rodriguez as the Boston Red Sox held on to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 at Fenway Park.
Brock Holt put Boston (52-44) up in the second inning with a one out RBI single. Toronto responded right away when Teoscar Hernandez hit his first of two solo homeruns in the top of the third to tie the score 1-1. Devers gave the lead back to the Sox with his 18th homer of the season that just snuck over the monster in left center field. The solo shot made it 2-1. Devers would extend to a three run lead for the hosts in the bottom of the fourth with a two run double. Hernandez hit his second solo homer in the fifth, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. took reliever Josh Taylor deep with a long solo homer over everything in left in the eighth to cut it to 4-3. Devers though was at it again in the bottom half of the eighth with what turned out to be the game winner with a one out RBI single. Toronto (36-61) had two runners on and noone out in the seventh, and then continued threatening in the eighth with two on and one out. The Blue Jays didn’t score either time however, with Matt Barnes getting two strikeouts in the seventh and Brandon Workman doing the same in the eighth to end the scoring chances. Toronto also put the first two runners on in the ninth against Workman, and got a run back on a Gurriel Jr. RBI hit but came up just short.
Rodriguez (11-4) allowed two runs on just three hits, with three walks and four strikeouts in 6.1 innings. Barnes threw 2/3 of an inning scoreless, and Workman allowed the one run in the ninth but stranded the tying run at second base with a strikeout in picking up his fifth save. Barnes and Workman combined for six strikeouts in 2.1 innings. Devers had three hits to help pick up the four RBI, while Holt added three hits. Christian Vazquez and Xander Bogaerts also added two hits each. Hernandez and Gurriel Jr. both had two hits for Toronto. Aaron Sanchez (3-14) continued his tough luck in 2019 allowing four runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings. Sanchez has lost 10 straight starts and 13 straight pitching decisions, with his last win coming back on April 27.
The final game of the four game series is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. as Boston goes for the series win. The Sox send Chris Sale (3-9, 4.27 ERA) to the mound hoping for a turnaround, and the Blue Jays counter with left hander Anthony Pannone.
