Blue Jays remain winless against Red Sox after bullpen falters in series finale

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, the prevailing narrative would be that they finally notched a victory over the Boston Red Sox, their first in seven tries this season.

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. An all-too-common occurrence so far in 2023.   

Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, the latter scenario will continue to haunt them, Alex Verdugo ensuring that with a tie-breaking solo home run in the ninth inning to lift 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 clubbed the first pitch he saw, a 95-m.p.h fastball, into the right-field stands.

The loss capped a three-game sweep for the Red Sox, who have outscored the Blue Jays, 49-29, this season. 

“They outhit us every game,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “It seems like it's always at the top of the order, whether it’s [Jarren] Duran, Verdugo, [Rafael] Devers. [Justin] Turner's a big add for them — he kind of changes the complexion of their at-bats, up and down. He gave us trouble. 

“So, I think that's kind of what it is. It’s just a consistent offence. We were a little inconsistent.”

The storyline of the Blue Jays’ record against the American League East has received plenty of attention and deservedly so, given the new, balanced schedule that features less games within the division. 

Here’s how it has broken down for the Blue Jays so far:

“These games are important, but you're not trying to do anything different than what you do and what you're good at,” said Schneider. “And that happens to be against division opponents. It’s a really tough division, too. [We] approach every series the same and I've said that these games are more important this time of year against the division, but it's not like we're trying to change anything or do anything different. [Our players] don't think about that.”

Asked for his interpretation of the club’s performance against the AL East, right-hander Kevin Gausman said he believes other teams make an effort to bring their A-game when they face the Blue Jays.

“I think we have a target on our back,” Gausman said. “It sounds bad to say, but I think people know how talented our team is. And so, they know they have to really bring it. So, if we don't bring it, they're going to have a higher intensity than us and so we got to know that going in and try to match that or take over that intensity. AL East is the hardest division in baseball and obviously, against the Red Sox, we're not doing our part.”

Gausman certainly did his part in Sunday’s game, pitching well despite battling against a Red Sox lineup that routinely worked deep into counts and fouled off tough pitches. 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 punched out five straight hitters 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 generated eight of his 12 total whiffs with it.

“Trying to not get swept,” Gausman responded, when asked about his uptick in velocity. “Trying to get guys out. I pitched myself into some situations and tried to, I guess, use velo to get out of them … I was definitely sweating out there.”

The only damage against him came in the first and third innings — Duran, the Red Sox leadoff hitter, doubled in those frames and was driven home on both occasions by a Devers single. Duran doubled off Gausman again in the fifth but was stranded when the right-hander retired the next two batters.

“Pretty impressive athlete,” said Gausman of Duran, the 26-year-old centre-fielder. “And so, you got to give credit where credit's due.”

Brandon Belt smacked two solo homers 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 Durran collected his fourth double of the game and scored on a single from 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 ninth-inning heroics, which quieted the crowd and effectively ended the Blue Jays’ 4-5 homestand on a very sour note. 

“Teams know how good we are and so they're prepared for it to be a dogfight,” said Gausman. “[The Red Sox] obviously won the first two games, and so, they're playing with house money. So, they're going to be more aggressive on the bases. They're going to take risks. Pitchers, the same [for them, too]. When you've already won the series, you're going to go into that third game a lot different.”

The Blue Jays will now head out on a six-game road trip to play the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers in the final two series before the all-star break.

Thankfully for the club, it’s a temporary reprieve from the AL East.