Boston Red Sox Toronto Blue Jays: You Can’t Make It Up

In the wake of an ugly 12-4 loss last night in Boston’s first game at Rogers Center in nearly two years, the Red Sox have returned in search of redemption against their American League Eastern rival. , the Blue Jays.

In the first of two seven-innings in today’s doubles program, Boston turned to right-hander Nick Pivetta, who allowed three runs on three hits in four. ²/₃ innings pitched against the Rays in first place in his last outing. Pivetta took the mound in a head-to-head against southpaw Robbie Ray.

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Notably, designated freefall hitter JD Martinez was absent from training after being placed on the COVID-19 injured list earlier this afternoon, calling wide receiver Connor Wong in a corresponding move, by Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. Martinez has a slash line of just 0.150 / 0.177 / 0.233 in his last 15 games.

Boston was in desperate need of calming down the Scorching Jays, who entered today’s game 8-2 in their last 10 games, while the Red Sox stumbled considerably, having just 2- 8 in their last 10 games.

In the first inning, head forward Kiké Hernandez worked a walk to get things started but couldn’t get past first base after two flyouts and a strikeout quickly extinguished any chance of a point. at the start of the match.

Pivetta demonstrated excellent mastery of both her fastball and a combination of her slider and curveball. On several occasions, he managed to squeeze a few shots down the middle of the zone that disappeared into backstop glove Kevin Plawecki, amassing several big hacks from the Toronto free swing squad. The right-hander clearly felt comfortable with his curved ball, which seemed to fall from the top of the area to the bottom on numerous occasions.

In a game that featured one of the most impressive pitching matches, Ray didn’t allow any hits until a single to one out in the fifth inning of Plawecki’s bat slipped between the shortstop Bo Bichette and the third goal Santiago Espinal. Sadly, Boston couldn’t capitalize on their first baserunner as Hernández hit it in the game’s first at-bat. Designated hitter Christian Vázquez made a double play late in the inning, putting more pressure on Pivetta to continue to prevent Toronto from hitting first before the bottom of the fifth.

Shortly after Ray gave up his first shot of the game, Pivetta called in the second half of the inning, allowing a single to left fielder Corey Dickerson. He managed to escape the round unscathed after asking receiver Alejandro Kirk to fly to right fielder Hunter Renfroe.

Finally, in the sixth round, Bobby Dalbec managed to walk. The Red Sox then advanced Dalbec to scoring position after second baseman Jonathan Araúz (whose most recent appearance came out of the relieving box to finish Friday’s game) slipped a ball between the gap at the third base and shortstop. Ray appeared to crumble in the sixth inning as his lack of command was evident throughout every at-bat.

With runners on first and second, Verdugo hit a ball at third that looked like a clear double play late in the inning. Toronto first baseman Lourdes Gurriel Jr. appeared to block the opening goal on the play, while Verdugo clearly failed to hit the opening goal in the process. Blue Jays skipper Charlie Montoyo challenged the safety ruling on the appeal, which was not overturned in a rather bizarre game. The decision doesn’t matter in the long run, as Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts flew into treacherous territory to Gurriel Jr. to end the round.

After Toronto’s Jordan Romano put Boston in order in the first half of the seventh, Pivetta was relieved of his duties for the game when right-hander Matt Barnes received the ball in an attempt to stop Toronto from capitalizing late in the game. seventh to ceremoniously wrap things up. Pivetta ended his day with a dazzling six innings of work, allowing just one hit and a free pass while hitting five, but he fell short of the well-deserved victory after Barnes allowed a hit. home run to first base to second baseman Marcus Semien.

Once again, the Boston offense failed to wake up and smell the coffee. The team know it, the fans know it, and so does manager Alex Cora. The team clearly have adjustments to make, as has been the narrative for many over the past few weeks.

The Red Sox and Blue Jays are playing again in a few hours. Tanner Houck will face new Toronto pitcher José Berríos. The first pitch is set for 7:07 p.m. ET.

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