The Toronto Blue Jays will look to build off an emphatic end to their seven-game losing streak and win the rubber match of their three-game series against the host Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.
Toronto ended its ugly slide with a 9-4 victory on Tuesday, totaling 11 hits while putting the game way out of reach with a seven-run third inning.
George Springer homered as part of a three-hit game, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in four runs on the strength of two doubles.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider noted that the daily grind may have helped his club through the rough stretch, which had been winless since June 16 before Tuesday.
“You’re sitting in a hotel and you’re thinking about (the loss) and you get here and you kind of just start your day. You do it again the next day, no matter what,” Schneider said. “So I think it’s more of a blessing.”
The Blue Jays also got a boost from shortstop Bo Bichette after a stint on the 10-day injured list (calf). He went 0-for-4 but walked and scored a run Tuesday.
“You want who has been one of your best hitters over the years — and will probably be that at the end of the year — getting up more and facing good pitching late,” Schneider said of Bichette’s return.
Toronto’s Yariel Rodríguez (0-2, 5.94 ERA) will take the mound on Wednesday. The right-hander remains in search of his first career MLB win and will look to bounce back after lasting just 1 1/3 innings and allowing five runs (four earned) in a 7-1 loss last Friday at Cleveland.
Rodriguez was pulled in the midst of a second inning in which the Blue Jays threw 70 pitches, the first team to do so since 2014.
The 27-year-old will make his first career start against Boston and just his second since returning from the 15-day injured list (thoracic spine inflammation). He had made four rehab starts for Triple-A Buffalo.
Rafael Devers and Tyler O’Neill each hit a home run for Boston on Tuesday, but the big inning against Brayan Bello was too much to overcome.
Devers was 2-for-4 and added a double alongside a 467-foot shot that was the longest home run of his career. It was the second time he has gone deep in as many games.
“I was proud of the way we continued to compete,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
Boston right-hander Kutter Crawford (3-7, 3.59 ERA) is coming off a 5-2 loss at Cincinnati on Friday, when he allowed five runs (three earned) while striking out seven and working into the seventh inning.
Crawford had worked six complete frames in four consecutive outings prior to his last in which he totaled five hits allowed across 6 1/3 innings against the Reds.
He allowed solo home runs in each of the first three innings, and the Reds added on with two unearned runs thanks to errors after he exited the game.
“It means a lot for (Cora) to run me out there in that situation,” Crawford said of working deep into his last start. “Obviously, it didn’t go as we planned, but him sending me out there, it shows he’s got trust in me, and I appreciate that a lot.”
Crawford is 1-1 with a 4.96 ERA in three career starts against Toronto. The victory came on July 1, 2023, at Rogers Centre.
Tuesday’s six-inning relief outing by Josh Winckowski should set up Boston’s bullpen for Wednesday’s game
–Field Level Media