The Boston Red Sox lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 7-3 on Friday, Aug. 4 at Fenway Park. This was game one of a massive series between the Sox and the team they’re chasing in the wild card standings, the Blue Jays. Tonight, Red Sox starter James Paxton got roughed up by a potent Jays offense, and the Red Sox bats could not give themselves a chance. The Red Sox are now three games back in the wild-card race but have an opportunity to gain ground in this series.
James Paxton had one of his worst starts as a Red Sox tonight. From the very first pitch, the Blue Jays were all over the Red Sox starter. The second baseman Whit Merrifield sent the first pitch of the night into the monster seats, giving the Blue Jays an early 1-0 lead. After a flyout from right fielder George Springer, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a home run, giving the fans in the monster seats their second souvenir of the night and making it 2-0 Blue Jays. In the second inning, with one out, second baseman Davis Schneider launched a homer 377 feet, extending the lead to 3-0. Notably, it was Schneider’s first-ever home run in his major league career, and it came in his first-ever at-bat in the major leagues.
Paxton would end up giving up another run and exited after only five innings. Tonight, it was all about control, or lack thereof, from Paxton. As shown in the pitch chart below, the home runs were all against pitches located in the middle of the zone. Against a lineup like Toronto’s, they will make you pay for missing your spot, as they did tonight.
The Red Sox offense tonight simply was not up for the challenge created by the pitching staff’s struggles. In the third inning, catcher Connor Wong would lead it off with a strikeout. In his first Red Sox at-bat, second baseman Luis Urias would take a walk. Shortstop Yu Chang would then line out sharply, keeping Urias at first with two outs. The next batter, center fielder Jarren Duran, would hit an opposite-field home run, making the score 3-2 Blue Jays.
Unfortunately for the Sox, they would not score again until the seventh, unlike the Blue Jays, who scored in the next inning. After shortstop Paul DeJong struck out to begin the inning, center fielder Daulton Varsho would single. Whit Merrifield would strike out before George Springer doubled off the wall in center and bring home Varsho to make it 4-2 Jays. Varsho would once again impact tonight’s contest when he led off the sixth inning with a home run, making it 5-2 Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays would later cruise to an easy win, with the final score being 7-3 in favor of the Jays. The Red Sox dropping game one tonight makes it even more important for them to bounce back in tomorrow’s game at 4:10 p.m. The Red Sox will have a bullpen game, and the opener will be reliever John Schreiber. In his last outing on Wednesday, Schreiber allowed four runs in just one inning against the Mariners. Schreiber will look to bounce back against Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios. His last start was against the Angels, he went six innings, allowing only one run. The Red Sox will look to snap their two-game losing streak and even this huge series against the Blue Jays.
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