RED SOX VS. BLUE JAYS SERIES RECAP:
The Red Sox suffered yet another series loss in disappointing fashion going 1-3 in Toronto. The unavailability of Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford did not help the Sox and the offense continued to struggle.
Micheal Wacha delivers a pitch during his start in Toronto. (Via Getty Images)
STARTERS:
The Sox starters had an outstanding series in Toronto. Nate Eovaldi was strong in game one, virtually shutting down the Blue Jays, going 7 innings with 2 earned runs off 2 solo homers from the Blue Jays, but was taken out after 72 pitches. The bullpen was taxed from the previous series, and not having starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock did them no favors. Will Venable, who served as manager while Alex Cora was out due to COVID, should have kept Eovaldi in the game.
In game two of the series, Nick Pivetta had a gutsy performance, bouncing back from back to back bad starts. Pivetta went 4.2 innings only giving up 2 earned runs, but walked 4 batters.
In game three, Micheal Wacha had his best start of the season. Wacha went 6 innings, giving up 1 earned run, walking 2 batters and striking out 5 more.
In game four of the series, Garret Whitlock took the mound, going 3 innings and only giving up 1 run.
Bo Bichette circles the bases after hitting a grand slam off Sox reliever Tyler Danish. (Via. Getty Images)
BULLPEN:
In game one, Matt Strahm had a shaky outing after relieving Eovaldi. He only got 1 out and surrendered 2 hits. After Strahm was called upon, again, because Whitlock had to start due to Houck’s vaccination status, it left the Sox to call upon Tyler Danish. Danish was called up because Kutter Crawford, who is also unvaccinated, and Danish promptly came into the game. He gave up a single and a grand slam, and ended up finishing the inning out.
In game two, the bullpen pieced together yet another strong performance up until the ninth inning, when Jake Diekman was called upon to get the save. Diekman responded by only going two-thirds of an inning, giving up a double and a two-run homer to blow the save. After Diekman, Matt Barnes came in the 10th inning. Barnes proceeded to walk the bases loaded (one intentional walk) and gave up the winning run.
In game three the bullpen was solid. Diekman, Hirokazu Sawamura, John Schreiber, and Danish all combined for 3 innings giving up only 1 hit and no runs.
In game four the bullpen was also solid once again combining for 6 innings of work giving up no runs and only 2 hits.
Xander Bogaerts and the rest of the Sox celebrate their lone win in Toronto. (Via Getty Images)
OFFENSE:
In game one, the offense was yet again silent for the majority of the game, until they tied the game in the eighth inning with a little small ball. Singles by Bobby Dalbec and Christian Arroyo started the inning, followed by a sac bunt by Plawecki, a single by Kiké and a sac fly from Alex Verdgo, produced 2 Sox runs, all in the eighth inning, right before disaster struck.
In game two, the Sox offense was again quiet up until the eighth inning. Trevor Story, Verdugo, Xander Bogaerts, and Kiké all had RBI’s in the inning which gave the Sox a 5-2 lead.
In game three, the Sox offense came to life, scoring in three different innings. Xander Bogaerts picked up 4 hits and an RBI, Rafeal Devers, JD Martinez, Rob Refsnyder, Kiké, and Plawecki all picked up RBI’s as well, giving the Sox one a complete game.
In game four, the Sox offense went back to being pathetic as they didn’t score a run. They managed only 5 hits on the day and left 5 men in scoring position.
Looking Ahead:
Overall, this series lacked substance, the Sox should have taken at least two games from Toronto but ended up losing three-out-of-four. Houck and Crawford not being available in this series burnt the Sox because it made them have to use arms that wouldn’t be used typically. It also kept Whitlock from being able to close out games. The Sox need a strong series in Baltimore, hoping for a sweep. If the starting pitching and bullpen continue the way that they have, the Sox should have no issue. The problem here for the Sox is the offense continues to not show up or only show up for one inning in games. The offense needs consistency. The Sox are hoping to get that as they parted ways with Travis Shaw and called up Franchy Cordero hoping he can give them more length in their lineup rather than just the top five hitters being the sole producers of offense. Hopefully this team becomes more consistent and begins to play better baseball.