TORONTO – The result of Sunday’s game was always going to feed into one of two possible storylines. Rarely in baseball are things black and white, but this is pretty black and white.
If the Toronto Blue Jays won, they would have finally notched a win over the Boston Red Sox this season. Their first in seven tries.
If they lost, the Blue Jays would fall to 0-7 against Boston this season, dropping yet another high-stakes game against a division rival.
Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, though, the latter scenario will continue to haunt them, Alex Verdugo ensuring that with a tie-breaking solo homer in the ninth inning to help his club to a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays in front of 41,455 at Rogers Centre on Sunday.
Facing Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano with the score knotted, 4-4, Verdugo smashed the first pitch he saw, a 95-m.p.h fastball, into the right-field stands.
The loss ensured the Blue Jays were swept by the Red Sox in the three-game set and concluded their homestand at 4-5.
Right-hander Kevin Gausman started the game for the Blue Jays and pitched well despite battling against a Red Sox lineup that routinely worked deep into counts. He allowed two runs on five hits over five innings, walking one and striking out seven to increase his AL-leading K total to 146.
At one point, Gausman struck out five straight and his velocity was up across the board, with a fastball that averaged 96.1 m.p.h. and maxed out at 98.4 m.p.h. He relied on the heater, throwing it 63 times out of his 98 pitches and got eight of his 12 total whiffs with it.
The only damage against him came in the first and third innings — Red Sox leadoff hitter Jarren Duran doubled in those frames and was driven home on both occasions by a Rafael Devers single. Duran doubled off Gausman again in the fifth but was stranded when the right-hander retired the next two batters.
Brandon Belt homered twice and Bo Bichette added a two-RBI single to help the Blue Jays build a 4-2 lead, but that was erased in the seventh inning, when Duran collected his fourth double of the game and scored on a single from Justin Turner off Blue Jays reliever Erik Swanson.
The next batter, Verdugo, grounded to third base and was retired on the throw from Matt Chapman. However, the first baseman’s throw back to third base was well wide of the bag and bounced into left field, allowing Turner to cross the plate and tie the game.
That set the stage for Verdugo’s heroics in the ninth inning.
The Blue Jays will now head out on a six-game road trip to visit the White Sox in Chicago and then the Detroit Tigers in the final series before the all-star break.
