After a frustrating June in which bad weather and befuddling baseball were the only constants, the Red Sox were ready to turn the calendar page.
But on the first of July, their inconsistencies made for a long and arduous road to a tight 7-6 victory.
Nothing has come easy for Boston’s baseball club lately, and that was the case in Toronto on Saturday. The sixth meeting between the division rivals overflowed with tense and worrisome moments, including Kutter Crawford getting hit by a comebacker, Masataka Yoshida taking a 102-mph pitch to his right leg by the knee, and the entire bullpen portion of the day, right down to the last out.
How did the Red Sox get the job done and improve to 6-0 against the Blue Jays on Canada Day?
Teamwork.
As obstacles and challenges arose throughout three-plus hours of play, the Red Sox stepped up for one another. In doing so, they came away with one of the gutsiest, grittiest, most entertaining wins of the year.
“The offense had my back,” Crawford said.
True, his teammates scored five runs while the 27-year-old right-hander was in the game. They also missed several opportunities to add on; the Boston bats collected seven runs on 13 hits and two walks, but were 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine men on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the second.
Entering Saturday, the Blue Jays led the majors with 594 men left on base. The Red Sox weren’t far behind, their 574 tied for ninth-most.
Crawford had their backs, too. He held down the fort long enough for the lineup to collect themselves. Though he allowed a leadoff home run to George Springer, it proved to be just one of three hits the Blue Jays would get off him; when he exited the game after 5 2/3 innings, he’d allowed two earned runs (a pair of solo homers) on three hits, issued two walks, and struck out five. They swung at each of the first 10 pitches he threw, with little to show for their efforts.
“He was good, he was really good,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of his starter.
“Hell of a job,” Justin Turner raved to NESN’s Jahmai Webster. “He took a missile off his wrist.”
Crawford was only at 74 pitches when he departed, his ERA down to 3.92. Had he not been hit, it’s likely he would’ve gone deeper into the game.
Good news on that front, though.
“It’s the left hand, we’re good,” the righty told reporters.
Yoshida got hit in the top of the seventh. Though he was able to walk it off and take his base, his day ended with that inning. It’s the second weekend in a row that he’s been hit by a pitch.
“He’s sore,” Cora said. “He’ll be sore for a little bit.”
X-rays were negative though, Cora said.
For most of the game, Yoshida, Rafael Devers, and Justin Turner were the story.
Yoshida has 10 RBIs in six career games against the Blue Jays. No wonder some Red Sox fans on Twitter suspected sabotage.
Coming off an odd June in which he’d drawn 17 walks and only collected four doubles, it was reassuring to see Devers hitting like the star of the show he can (and needs to) be. He went 3 for 4 — a home run, double, single, and three runs batted in. His 20th homer of the season got the Red Sox on the board and gave them a 2-1 lead.
Turner continued his incredible hot streak by coming up clutch when it mattered most. He entered the day hitting .320 with a .960 OPS over his last 19 games, and went 3 for 5 with a pair of RBIs. After the Blue Jays scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to cut their deficit to one, the veteran infielder’s solo home run at the top of the ninth gave Boston a little breathing room. Minutes later, that extra run proved to be meaningful.
For a solid portion of the game, the Red Sox were in a comfortable spot. Having taken a 5-2 lead in the fifth and adding on to make it 6-2 in the sixth, they looked poised to cruise to a win.
The smooth ride came to a screeching halt when Josh Winckowski took over for Crawford in the bottom of the sixth. The usually-commanding righty was all over the place. Over two innings, he faced 13 batters, struck out four, and allowed three earned runs on four hits and three walks. He even made a throwing error.
When he got two quick outs in the bottom of the eighth and allowed four consecutive batters to reach base, forcing Cora to go to his closer early.
Kenley Jansen hadn’t converted a save of more than three outs since May 2022, and as he worked his way out of the eighth and through the ninth, there were several moments when it looked like that would continue to be the case.
He got Cavan Biggio to strike out to end the eighth, then began the ninth by striking out Kevin Kiermaier. Then, once again, the Red Sox worked themselves into a tight spot and managed to wriggle out of it. Jansen allowed a single to Springer, and Bo Bichette narrowly missed what would’ve been a game-tying home run; he had to settle for a double, and Springer advanced to third, having not taken a big enough lead off the base.
With the tying run in scoring position, the veteran closer struck out Brandon Belt, and it all came down to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The young slugger skied a single to the right-field corner. Springer scored easily, and Bichette followed him around the diamond. For a moment, it all looked lost. The game would be tied, the inning would continue, and the Blue Jays would have momentum on their side to walk it off.
Then Alex Verdugo came up with the ball and fired it home to Connor Wong, who made the tag with apparent ease.
The Blue Jays attempted to challenge, but the call was confirmed. Bichette was out at home, and the Red Sox had won.
“I saw pretty quick that my throw was on-line,” Verdugo told reporters. “Bo was like, not even in the hitting circle area.”
“(Verdugo’s) one of the best, if not the best defensive right fielder in the American League,” Cora said.
“Great fundamental baseball,” Turner agreed.
“Team win, that’s how I see it,” Jansen said. “Credit to Dugie (Verdugo) there.”
Jansen had no problem admitting that he got by with a little help from his teammates, as The Beatles would say.
“Today was, everybody picking up each other,” the veteran closer added. “(Verdugo) picked me up.”
