Washington (AFP) - The Toronto Blue Jays pummelled the Red Sox 28-5 in Boston on Friday, setting a franchise record for runs and coming up just shy of the Major League Baseball modern record for runs in a game.
Toronto needed just five innings to break their previous record of 24 runs, set on June 26, 1978 against the Baltimore Orioles.
When they added two more to make it 27 in the sixth it looked like they could break MLB's modern record of 30 runs in a game, but they were held scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings before adding one more run in the ninth.
The writing was on the wall for Boston in the third inning, when Toronto's Raimel Tapia lofted a fly ball with the bases loaded that looked like an certain out to end the inning.
But Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran lost the ball in the lights and it fell behind him on the warning track as a shocked Tapia roared around the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam that made it 10-0.
The Blue Jays exploded for 11 runs in the fifth inning, sending 15 batters to the plate.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.drove in the record-tying and record-breaking runs in the fifth, belting a low fastball into the outfield to plate two.
Gurriel finished the night with six hits -- matching another Blue Jays record.
Danny Jansen homered twice for Toronto and drove in six runs.Matt Chapman and Teoscar Hernandez also homered as Boston surrendered the most runs in a game in its history.
Their previous record was a 27-3 loss to Cleveland in 1923.
