 was a little salt in our wounds,'' said Toronto first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who homered to help the Blue Jays win 8-7 on Saturday. ''It was a good feeling to throw that back at them, especially a team that's looking to contend in the playoffs.'' Boston scored five times in the second and led 6-0 after three before its bullpen blew a save for the 15th time in 31 chances.Freddy Galvis and Tellez hit back-to-back homers as Toronto scored four in the seventh inning. Eric Sogard drew a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk when the Blue Jays added three more to take the lead in the eighth, when Matt Barnes (3-2) and Ryan Brasier combined to walk four straight batters with two outs.Nick Kingham (3-1) pitched two hitless innings of relief for Toronto. Ken Giles pitched the ninth for his 12th save, allowing one run before striking out J. D. Martinez to end the game.''We were not thinking about what happened yesterday,'' Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said. ''That's why we won this game.'' KICK SAVEThe game began after a 25-minute delay for a sun shower, and Toronto opener Derek Law retired the side in the first. But he struggled after taking Martinez's line drive off his foot in the second.The ball ricocheted to Tellez at first for the easy putout, and Law remained in the game. But he walked the next batter, putting runners on first and second, then Jackie Bradley Jr. doubled off the Green Monster. Michael Chavis singled him home to make it 3-0 and chase Law.One out later, Mookie Betts walked and Andrew Benintendi doubled off the Wall. Christian Vazquez, who hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning over the bullpens on Friday night, curled one down the right-field line in the third, hitting the Pesky Pole 302 feet away.BLOWN SAVEBut Red Sox reliever Mike Shawaryn gave almost all of it back in the seventh, allowing a leadoff single to Cavan Biggio before Galvis curled a two-run shot around the Pesky Pole. Tellez homered to straightaway center field, and Luke Maile scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-5.Teoscar Hernandez singled with one out in the eighth, took second on a wild pitch and scored to tie the game when Biggio singled off second baseman Brock Holt's glove. Barnes walked Tellez and pinch-hitter Billy McKinney to load the bases.Brasier came in and walked Sogard to give the Blue Jays their first lead of the game, and then walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to make it 8-6.''That was a bad inning, too,'' Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. ''Honestly, a bad game. Offensively we didn't do too much after we scored all those runs. That's something that you have to do. ... Putting teams away is a must sometimes.'' THWARTED RALLYBetts walked with one out in the ninth, stole second and then scored to make it 8-7 when Xander Bogaerts lofted a high fly to left that got caught up in the wind and fell safely when Galvis, the shortstop, couldn't get under it. It hopped over the side wall for a ground rule double - Bogaerts' seventh straight game with a double, tying the AL record.TRAINER'S ROOMRed Sox: 1B Steve Pearce (lower back strain) had four at-bats in a rehab start in Triple-A on Friday night and was scheduled to play again for the PawSox on Saturday. ... If RP Heath Hembree (right elbow strain) reports back OK after throwing on Saturday, he will go out on a rehab assignment on Monday. ... 1B Mitch Moreland took grounders and ran on Saturday.UP NEXTRed Sox RHP Rick Porcello (5-6) faces Marcus Stroman (4-9) in the series finale on Sunday.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Red Sox heating up; Jays can't shake the bluesFLMThe Boston Red Sox could be getting that 2018 feeling back.They overcame a 5-1 deficit to defeat the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 in 10 innings Friday night on a home run by Christian Vazquez and will try to keep the momentum building in the middle game of the three-game series Saturday afternoon.Meanwhile, it is more of the same for the Blue Jays, who have lost 12 of their past 14 games at Fenway Park.The Red Sox will start left-hander Brian Johnson (1-1, 10.00 ERA), while the Blue Jays will use an assortment of relievers starting with Derek Law (0-1, 5.16 ERA) followed by Sam Gaviglio (4-1, 4.47).Boston had a poor beginning to a season after winning the World Series in 2018. But they have started to play more like they did last season, with Friday serving as an example.The Red Sox scored three runs in the seventh inning and tied it with one run in the eighth to force extra innings. They're on an 8-1 run and are 31-18 since April 28.The Blue Jays are in a 13-35 drought."We played good baseball," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. "No team wants to lose in a walk-off. No team wants to miss out on beating the World Series champions, but we played a good game against one of the best teams in baseball. We were right there to the end." Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts contributed an RBI double to the three-run seventh, and his manager, Alex Cora, feels that he deserves All-Star recognition."He's one of the best shortstops in the league," Cora said. "Offensively, he's one of the best. We always talk about (Francisco) Lindor and (Carlos) Correa. This guy, year in and year out, he shows up every day. That's the most important thing." His double Friday was his 25th of the season and it gave him his 50th RBI."Everybody knows who he is," Cora said. "Just the way he goes about his business and showing up every day, people appreciate that. Obviously the results, this guy, he's playing a premium position at (6-foot-1, 210 pounds). He's a big shortstop, he's a strong shortstop and he keeps getting better."He's not only a good defender, a good offensive player, he runs the bases well, he's a smart individual, and I'm lucky that he's my shortstop," Cora said.Johnson made his first start of the season Sunday against the Orioles at Baltimore, allowing one run in three innings in Boston's 8-6 victory. He made four previous appearances in relief, and also pitched out of the bullpen and took the loss in Tuesday's 17-inning loss in Minnesota. Johnson pitched one-third of an inning, allowing three hits and a walk.In 26 career appearances (11 starts) at Fenway Park, he is 3-2 with a 4.06 ERA. He will be making his first start against Toronto since Aug. 8. He was 1-1 with an 8.49 ERA in four games (two starts) against the Blue Jays last season.Johnson is 2-1 with a 7.15 ERA in six career games (four starts) against Toronto. He has no wins or losses and has a 5.91 ERA in three games (two starts) against the Blue Jays in Boston. His first career major league win came against the Blue Jays on April 18, 2017, in Toronto.Law has no wins or losses and has a 1.42 ERA in four career relief appearances against Boston. Gaviglio is 1-2 with a 4.79 ERA in seven career games (three starts) against the Red Sox.--Field Level Media
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