Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) – Jose Bautista finished 2-for-4 with a solo
homer and three RBI as Toronto claimed an 11-8 victory over Boston in the
middle test of a three-game series from Fenway Park which took a shade over
four hours to complete.
Josh Donaldson also went deep, part of his 3-for-5, three-run, two-RBI effort
for the Blue Jays, who put an end to a four-game losing skid which included a
6-5 defeat in Monday’s opener.
Edwin Encarnacion added two hits and drove in two, with Kevin Pillar going 3-
for-4 and scoring twice.
“It was going back and forth, back and forth, but the fact that we answered
back after we scored four just tells you what these guys are about,” Toronto
manager John Gibbons said.
Marco Estrada (1-0) tossed three scoreless and hitless relief innings. Starter
Drew Hutchinson gave up nine hits and six runs with five walks over four-plus
innings.
Hanley Ramirez clubbed a two-run homer, with David Ortiz and Mookie Betts
adding two RBI apiece for the Red Sox, losers in five of their last seven
overall.
“We felt like we still had an opportunity to win this game, even though we
were down three or four runs in the middle innings,” said Red Sox manager John
Farrell. “We’ve got to find a way to gain some consistency.”
Clay Buchholz (1-3) was shelled for six hits and five runs — four
earned — over just 2 2/3 frames.
Already ahead by a 5-4 count, the Jays picked up three more in the fourth on
RBI singles from Bautista and Encarnacion around an Edward Mujica balk which
forced in Donaldson.
Betts began the home half with a double and eventually scored on an Ortiz fly
to right for an 8-5 game, yet the Jays countered in the fifth as Ryan Goins
tripled home Pillar with two down.
Betts’ bases-loaded walk in the home fifth forced in Pablo Sandoval, and
Boston was back within three, but that momentum was short-lived as Bautista
somehow wrapped a long drive to left over the foul pole to kick off
the eighth and the Jays hit double digits.
Ortiz doubled with two down in the bottom portion, then Ramirez cleared the
low wall in right and the hosts climbed back to within 10-8.
Donaldson once again provided some distance for Toronto with his two-out solo
blast to center in the ninth.
Brett Cecil turned in a relatively quiet bottom of the ninth to record his
first save of the season, stranding a runner on second by retiring Betts on a
grounder to second.
Xander Bogaerts singled home Sandoval early in the Boston second, and the Sox
picked up three more runs later in the frame on three consecutive RBI singles
by Betts, Dustin Pedroia and Ortiz.
Toronto answered with five in the third on RBI hits from Devon Travis and
Donaldson, a fly to right from Bautista and two more run-scoring singles by
Encarnacion and Michael Saunders — the last of which forced Buchholz from the
game.
Game Notes
Sixteen of Boston’s 21 games have lasted at least three hours, with Tuesday’s
contest setting a record for longest contest which was completed in nine
innings … Mujica was charged with three runs on as many hits while walking
two in 1 1/3 innings … Prior to the contest, the Jays placed shortstop Jose
Reyes on the 15-day disabled list and recalled shortstop Jonathan Diaz from
Triple-A Buffalo … Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli was scratched due to
an illness.
