Final, Blue Jays 4-2: Xander Bogaerts homered in the ninth inning, which made things a little bit more interesting. But Casey Janssen still closed out the contest.
The Red Sox now have dropped seven of their last eight after losing Tuesday’s middle game against the Blue Jays. Boston is 11 games under .500 (48-59).
Colby Rasmus gave the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the second inning. Dustin Pedroia’s RBI double in the third inning briefly tied the game, but Anthony Gose’s two-run double in the fourth inning helped Toronto seize control for good.
Bogaerts, Pedroia and Brock Holt each had two hits in the loss. The Red Sox went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.
Rubby De La Rosa, who entered with a 3-0 record and 1.38 ERA in four home starts this season, was beaten for the first time at Fenway Park. The right-hander allowed three earned runs on nine hits over six innings. He struck out one and walked two.
Mid 9th, Blue Jays 4-1: The Blue Jays added a run in the ninth inning following a perfectly executed hit-and-run.
Anthony Gose singled into center field with one out. The Jays put the wheels in motion, and Jose Reyes singled into left-center field. Reyes slipped a ground ball right past shortstop Stephen Drew, who was running over to cover second base with Gose taking off.
Gose scored when Melky Cabrera hit a slow chopper to Drew.
End 8th, Blue Jays 3-1: The Red Sox called for a questionable challenge in the eighth inning.
Aaron Sanchez took over after seven excellent innings from Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman. Dustin Pedroia greeted him with a ground ball into the hole stopped by shortstop Jose Reyes. Reyes delivered a strong throw to first base dug out by Danny Valencia.
Replays showed the Pedroia clearly was out. Manager John Farrell still opted to challenge the call, though, and the initial ruling stood.
Brett Cecil entered with one out and struck out David Ortiz.
Jonny Gomes pinch-hit for Mike Carp against the left-hander. He walked, but Stephen Drew couldn’t cash in. Drew grounded back to the mound.
Junichi Tazawa will pitch the ninth inning with Boston trailing by two runs.
Mid 8th, Blue Jays 3-1: Andrew Miller, who has been the subject of trade rumors in recent days, tossed a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
Danny Valencia, who the Blue Jays acquired Monday, pinch-hit for Juan Francisco. He flied out to center field.
Miller struck out Colby Rasmus for the second out. Miller buzzed Rasmus with a fastball up and in before dropping in a slider to pick up the K.
Steve Tolleson, pinch-hitting for Munenori Kawasaki, grounded to short to end the inning.
End 7th, Blue Jays 3-1: Brock Holt’s two-out double went for naught.
Marcus Stroman kept rolling in the seventh inning, retiring Jackie Bradley Jr. and Christian Vazquez before Holt doubled into the left field corner.
Daniel Nava ended the inning with a routine fly ball to center field.
The Red Sox are 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and have left four men on base.
Stroman has eight strikeouts through seven innings. He has thrown 115 pitches, so his outing likely is over.
Andrew Miller will pitch the eighth inning for Boston. One can’t help but wonder if this will be his final appearance in a Red Sox uniform.
Mid 7th, Blue Jays 3-1: Edward Mujica pitched a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Rubby De La Rosa.
Melky Cabrera led off with a line drive into center field. It nearly took Mujica’s head off his shoulders, but the right-hander survived.
Dioner Navarro hit a screaming line drive right at Mike Carp with two outs. Carp made the grab and stepped on first for an unassisted double play.
De La Rosa allowed three runs on nine hits over six innings. He struck out one, walked two and threw 112 pitches (66 strikes).
End 6th, Blue Jays 3-1: There wasn’t much happening for the Red Sox’s offense in the sixth inning. Marcus Stroman again is rolling.
Mike Carp, Stephen Drew and Xander Bogaerts went down without a fight. Bogaerts struck out for the second time.
The No. 4 through No.9 hitters in Boston’s lineup are a combined 1-for-12 in the game. The Red Sox have five hits total.
Mid 6th, Blue Jays 3-1: Rubby De La Rosa made it through six full frames.
De La Rosa surrendered a leadoff single to Munenori Kawasaki in the sixth but managed to work around it.
Ryan Goins essentially swapped places with Kawasaki by virtue of a forceout. Anthony Gose, who gave the Blue Jays the lead with a two-run double in the fourth inning, dropped down a bunt that moved Goins into scoring position.
De La Rosa retired Jose Reyes to end the inning and likely his night. De La Rosa has thrown 112 pitches.
End 5th, Blue Jays 3-1: The Red Sox stranded two in the fifth inning.
Daniel Nava and Dustin Pedroia singled with two outs. David Ortiz ended the threat by grounding into the shift in shallow right field.
Pedroia fouled a ball off his foot during his fifth-inning at-bat. A base hit is one way to ease the pain. He nearly struck Nava with his single into right field, but Nava showed quick footwork in maneuvering around it.
Regarding the shift, it’s worth noting that Red Sox manager John Farrell said before the game he’d be against any rule geared toward making certain defensive alignments illegal. Farrell said baseball is about making adjustments.
Rubby De La Rosa will come back out for the sixth inning. He has thrown 102 pitches to this point.
Mid 5th, Blue Jays 3-1: Rubby De La Rosa broke free of some trouble in the fifth inning.
Jose Bautista singled into center field with one out. Bautista has reached base in all three of his plate appearances (single and two walks).
Business picked up with two outs when Juan Francisco hit a line drive to left field. It got up over Daniel Nava’s head for a double, but Bautista was forced to stop at third.
De La Rosa closed off the inning by taking care of Colby Rasmus, who homered in the second inning. Rasmus flied out to Jackie Bradley Jr. in deep center field.
End 4th, Blue Jays 3-1: It didn’t take long for Marcus Stroman to return to the dugout. He breezed through the fourth inning.
Stephen Drew, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. went down in order in the fourth.
Bogaerts struck out swinging, marking Stroman’s sixth K of the contest.
Bogaerts lost a grip on his bat while striking out for the second out. It ended up in the seats along the third base line. Fortunately, everyone appeared to be OK.
Mid 4th, Blue Jays 3-1: The Blue Jays wasted no time in recapturing the lead.
Anthony Gose hooked a two-run double into the right field corner in the fourth inning to give Toronto a 3-1 edge.
Juan Francisco and Colby Rasmus set the table with back-to-back singles to begin the inning. Munenori Kawasaki bunted them both into scoring position before Gose did his damage.
Kawasaki nearly reached himself, as Rubby De La Rosa was forced to fire a dart to first base to ensure the Red Sox came out on the winning end of a bang-bang play at first base.
End 3rd, 1-1: Dustin Pedroia tied the game 1-1.
Brock Holt, who has been struggling offensively over the last week, singled into center field with one out. Christian Vazquez struck out to being the inning.
Marcus Stroman rebounded to fan Daniel Nava, but Pedroia hit a screamer off the left field wall. The ball bounced off the top of the scoreboard located on the Green Monster, and Holt raced all the way around from first base with Boston’s first run.
Mid 3rd, Blue Jays 1-0: Rubby De La Rosa allowed two hitters to reach in the third inning. Neither crossed the plate.
Jose Reyes singled into left field to begin the third. Melky Cabrera promptly grounded into a double play.
De La Rosa issued a two-out walk to Jose Bautista before retiring Dioner Navarro on a ground ball to first base.
End 2nd, Blue Jays 1-0: Ortiz smoked a 3-2 fastball — the eighth pitch he saw — toward the bullpens in right field. His drive took Jose Bautista all the way back to the wall. Bautista made the catch, but it might have cleared the fence if he wasn’t there to stick his glove up.
The Red Sox made some noise with two outs. Stephen Drew walked and Xander Bogaerts dropped a single into right field.
Marcus Stroman escaped the inning by striking out Jackie Bradley Jr.
Mid 2nd, Blue Jays 1-0: Rubby De La Rosa has had some trouble commanding his fastball in the early going. Naturally, Colby Rasmus jumped on a fastball and sent it out of the yard.
Rasmus worked the count full after Juan Francisco lined out to Brock Holt in right field to begin the second inning. De La Rosa threw seven straight fastballs to Rasmus, the last of which was drilled into the center field bleachers for a solo homer.
De La Rosa retired Munenori Kawasaki on a little dribbler to first base. There was some question as to whether the ball struck Kawasaki — which would have signaled a foul ball — but the umpires ruled that it didn’t.
Ryan Goins, who had four hits Monday, collected another knock. He singled into left field with two outs.
Anthony Gose grounded to short to end the inning.
End 1st, 0-0: Marcus Stroman picked up where he left off.
Stroman, who fired seven shutout innings against the Red Sox in his last start, was impressive in the first inning of this one. He retired Brock Holt, Daniel Nava and Dustin Pedroia in order.
Stroman struck out Holt and Nava. Both hitters went down looking at 93 mph fastballs.
Pedroia grounded to short to end the inning.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Rubby De La Rosa put himself into some hot water in the first inning but avoided any damage.
De La Rosa recorded two very quick outs. Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera both took aim at the Green Monster, but Daniel Nava was there waiting. Cabrera, who homered twice in Monday’s rout, lifted a ball to the warning track that Nava tracked down.
De La Rosa was thrown out of cruise control by walking Jose Bautista. The right-hander then fired an errant pickoff throw that enabled Bautista to take second base.
RDLR — Rubby De La Rosa, for all you non-acronym gurus — ended the inning by retiring Dioner Navarro on a fly ball to center field.
7:12 p.m.: Rubby De La Rosa takes the mound. Let’s do this.
7:05 p.m.: Mike Napoli is out of Tuesday’s lineup.
Napoli is dealing with some swelling in his finger — an ailment he has dealt with almost all season — and the Red Sox decided rest is the best course of action. Mike Carp will start in Napoli’s place.
Brock Holt will start in right field. He is just 1-for-23 over his last six games, lowering his average to .304.
Holt will be joined in the outfield by Jackie Bradley Jr. (center field) and Daniel Nava (left field).
Tuesday’s complete lineups are below.
Boston Red Sox (48-58)
Brock Holt, RF
Daniel Nava, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Carp, 1B
Stephen Drew, SS
Xander Bogaerts, 3B
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Christian Vazquez, C
Rubby De La Rosa, RHP (3-3, 3.54 ERA)
Toronto Blue Jays (57-50)
Jose Reyes, SS
Melky Cabrera, LF
Jose Bautista, RF
Dioner Navarro, C
Juan Francisco, 1B
Colby Rasmus, DH
Munenori Kawasaki, 3B
Ryan Goins, 2B
Anthony Gose, CF
Marcus Stroman, RHP (6-2, 3.21 ERA)
6:45 p.m. ET: The Boston Red Sox need to pick themselves up.
The Red Sox were pounded 14-1 in Monday’s series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Clay Buchholz turned in a poor start and Felix Doubront was awful in relief as the Jays scored nine runs in the sixth inning en route to an easy victory.
Rubby De La Rosa will toe the rubber Tuesday against the Blue Jays. The right-hander has dazzled at Fenway Park this season, posting a 3-0 record and 1.38 ERA in four home starts. De La Rosa is coming off his shortest start of the season, though. He surrendered a career-high seven runs (six earned) over four innings Thursday in an 8-0 loss to these same Jays.
De La Rosa will face Marcus Stroman, who has shown tremendous potential this season. Stroman took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his last start Thursday against the Red Sox. He ended up tossing seven shutout innings while earning his seventh win of the season.
Tuesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Tune in on NESN and keep it right here with NESN.com’s live blog.
