Blue Jays 15, Red Sox 7, Mid 9th -- Alfredo Aceves gets some work in in a meaningless top of the ninth.
Blue Jays 15, Red Sox 7, End 8th -- The Sox will at least let us get on with our day's as soon as possible, it seems. A 1-2-3 eighth drives home the fact that this one is over.
Blue Jays 15, Red Sox 7, Mid 8th -- Any hope for a late rally evaporates with a tough-luck eighth. Though Mark Melancon offers up the sort of result on the scoreboard he became all too familiar with in the beginning of the year, this time it comes on cheap stuff that he can't really do much about. An infield single to short, a ground ball just barely fair past the third base bag and a bunt load the bases before a run is recorded. A weak flair to right is about the hardest hit ball of the inning, and it, too, goes for a hit, bringing two runs in to score. Matt Albers comes in to give up a single and sacrifice fly before ending the inning with four new runs on the board.
Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 7, End 7th -- Hopes for a completion of the comeback are made significantly dimmer as the 2-3-4 part of the lineup goes 1-2-3 in the seventh. Have they run out of steam?
Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 7, Mid 7th -- These scoreless innings (replete with five strikeouts) from Tazawa not only serve to keep the Sox at least slightly alive, but also show that it really was just Lester being terrible in the first five frames. Not that there was much doubt, but it really drives the point home.
Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 7, End 6th -- Thanks to a little luck, the Red Sox are actually not too far out of this one through six innings. While the first two outs came quickly enough, and Ryan Sweeney didn't do much to avoid the third, his fly ball happened to go to the sun field, and Rajai Davis simply couldn't find it, allowing Sweeney to make it to second. With both Mike Aviles and Nick Punto going to the wall in left behind him, the Sox produce a couple of runs and make it a four-score game with three frames to go.
Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 5, Mid 6th -- Junichi Tazawa picks up his second straight scoreless inning--an achievement which automatically qualifies him for a chance to take Lester's rotation spot for at least a few weeks, I'd think.
Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 5, End 5th -- The Sox get another silver lining to the game in the form of a leadoff shot from Jacoby Ellsbury--a high rocket to dead center that drops right around where Travis Snider's ended up in the top half of the inning. It's not a big dent in this deficit, but Ellsbury showing the power swing that made him so valuable last year is a very positive sign.
Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 4, Mid 5th -- If you didn't see this coming...The Sox score three in the first, Lester offers up four in the second. The Sox score one in the fourth, Lester offers up two in the fifth. A career-high fifth walk allowed gives the Jays yet another leadoff baserunner, and two pitches later Travis Snider takes Lester deep onto the batter's eye in center field. Junichi Tazawa manages to mop the inning up behind him, and will hopefully be able to record some fast outings and keep the bullpen fresh.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 4, End 4th -- The Red Sox manage to load the bases with one out on hits from Adrian Gonzalez and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a walk from Ryan Sweeney. Mike Aviles almost looks set to continue the rally, but Rajai Davis is able to track down his line drive to right field, turning what could have even been extra bases into just a sacrifice fly, which is all the Sox manage as Nick Punto grounds weakly to second.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 3, Mid 4th -- Much like in the third, the first batter reaches--this time on a crushed wall ball single the likes of which only Fenway can produce--but Jon Lester is able to get out of trouble (this time with two on after a walk) thanks to a double play that ends the inning.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 3, End 3rd -- Unfortunately, Alvaez is able to respond with his second 1-2-3 frame to keep the Red Sox back six. Jacoby Ellsbury at least fought through a long, 13-pitch AB, but good battles are small comfort trailing by six.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 3, Mid 3rd -- Another missed location leads to another leadoff baserunner against Jon Lester, as Jeff Mathis lines a single into left field. For once, though, Lester buckles down, getting a pop-up behind short that Mike Aviles covers a lot of ground to make the play on and a ground ball up the middle that the Red Sox are able to turn two on. One way or another, that's three batters to the inning.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 3, End 2nd -- Unlike Jon Lester, Henderson Alvarez manages to settle down in the second inning, needing just 12 pitches to get through a 1-2-3 frame.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 3, Mid 2nd -- Has anyone told Jon Lester he's not in competition with Boston's offense? After being given three runs back, Lester one-ups his lineup by surrendering four in a pathetic fourth inning effort. After allowing a pair of walks around a sacrifice bunt and fly ball out, Lester gets right back on the homer train. A bad changeup to Rajai Davis quickly finds its way into the Monster seats, completely undoing the three-run contribution from Adrian Gonzalez, and six pitches later it's Rajai Davis taking a high fastball to left for a solo shot that makes it a ridiculous 9-3 in the second inning.
Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 3, End 1st -- The offense at least seems interested in making this into a real game. An infield single from Jacoby Ellsbury and ground ball through the left side off the bat of Dustin Pedroia set the table for Adrian Gonzalez with one out. After fouling off a couple of offerings, Gonzalez got a fastball low over the plate and turned on it, crushing a no-doubter of his own a good few rows deep past the bullpens in left field. The power is surging, but the Sox still trail by two.
Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 0, Mid 1st -- Facing arguably their most must-win game of the year, needing Jon Lester to be good, the Red Sox get nothing from their one-time ace in the first. Instead, the southpaw hit a new low in the first, allowing a no-doubt homer over everything in left to Brett Lawrie on the very first pitch of the game. Things did not get much better from there. A walk, a bunt single to Nick Punto, and a sharp line drive to right that hopped up into the seats put two men on with another run in. J.P. Arencibia would make it 3-0 with an RBI ground out, and Rajai Davis 4-0 by doubling to left.
Amazingly, Lester even managed to record a third strike swinging to Travis Snider without picking up an out, his curveball getting far enough away from Jarrod Saltalamacchia that Snider was able to reach at first. This let Jeff Mathis step to the plate with two outs to work with, freeing him up to drop a safety squeeze down to bring another run in and put the Sox in an early five-run hole.
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