Final, Red Sox 11-7 (11 innings): Heath Hembree recorded the final three outs despite surrendering three runs.
The Red Sox and Blue Jays required extra innings for the second night in a row. Again, it was Boston that prevailed despite letting a lead slip away.
The Red Sox jumped out to an early 3-0 edge Tuesday. Dustin Pedroia launched his second home run in as many games in the first inning. The Blue Jays chipped away with one run in the third, fourth and fifth innings, though, and the contest quickly turned into a dogfight.
Boston recaptured the lead in the seventh inning when Yoenis Cespedes knocked in Brock Holt with an RBI single. Jose Bautista tied the game minutes later with his 25th home run of 2014.
The game remained tied 4-4 until the 11th inning. That’s when the Red Sox exploded for seven runs. Pedroia put Boston on top with a two-run single. Mike Napoli and Allen Craig added a pair of home runs.
The Red Sox, who snapped an eight-game losing streak in Monday’s series opener, will look to complete a three-game sweep Wednesday. Joe Kelly is scheduled to face Marcus Stroman in the finale at Rogers Centre.
Mid 11th, Red Sox 11-4: The Red Sox exploded for seven runs in the 11th inning to grab an 11-4 lead.
Mookie Betts started the huge inning with a single into right field. Christian Vazquez then dropped down a bunt, and pitcher Casey Janssen aggressively tried to throw out Betts at second base. Betts initially was ruled out, but replays showed his foot beat the throw. Thus, the call was overturned following a crucial challenge.
Brock Holt laid down a bunt in an effort to move both Betts and Vazquez into scoring position. Janssen again choked. He failed to make a barehanded play, and everyone was safe.
Dustin Pedroia put Boston on top with a two-run single into center field. Pedroia has driven in four runs, as he also smacked a two-run homer back in the first inning.
Sergio Santos replaced Janssen at that point. Santos struck out Yoenis Cespedes, but Mike Napoli absolutely demolished a three-run homer into the upper deck at Rogers Centre.
The Sox weren’t done, either. Daniel Nava doubled, and Allen Craig connected for his first home run in a Red Sox uniform.
Things got so bad that the Blue Jays turned to a position player to pitch. Steve Tolleson shifted to the mound from third base. He struck out Will Middlebrooks and retired Betts on a fly ball to deep left field.
End 10th, 4-4: The Blue Jays left the potential winning run in scoring position.
Junichi Tazawa fell behind Kevin Pillar 3-0 with one out. Pillar then lined a 3-1 fastball into left-center field.
The ball exploded on Mookie Betts, forcing the rookie to leap while fielding it on a bounce. Pillar was thinking two out of the box and hustled his way into second base with a double.
Munenori Kawasaki, who has given the Red Sox fits all night, hit a chopper to short for the second out. It was the first time Boston managed to retire Toronto’s No. 9 hitter.
Tazawa escaped the inning by getting Jose Reyes to ground to first base. Reyes put good wood on the ball, but the sure-handed Allen Craig was there to end the frame.
Mid 10th, 4-4: Nothing brewing for the Red Sox in the 10th.
Casey Janssen shut down Daniel Nava, Allen Craig and Will Middlebrooks.
Nava is 0-for-5. Craig is 0-for-4.
Middlebrooks struck out looking on a pitch that might have been outside. He wasn’t too pleased with the call and let home plate umpire Hal Gibson III know it.
Junichi Tazawa will be deployed in the bottom of the 10th inning for Boston.
End 9th, 4-4: More free baseball.
The Red Sox and Blue Jays will head to extra innings for the second night in a row. Edward Mujica worked through a two-out double in the ninth.
Adam Lind smoked a ball to center field. Mookie Betts raced back and appeared to have a beat on it, but the ball clanked off his glove. Lind was awarded a double, though Betts probably wants that one back.
Steven Tolleson pinch ran for Lind. The Red Sox then intentionally walked Edwin Encarnacion with first base open.
Dioner Navarro, pinch-hitting for Juan Francisco, struck out to end the threat. The teams are a combined 3-for-25 with runners in scoring position.
Mid 9th, 4-4: The Red Sox couldn’t come up with a timely hit.
Brock Holt, who is doing it on both sides of the ball, singled into left field with one out.
Aaron Sanchez, who suffered the loss Monday, entered with Dustin Pedroia digging in. Pedroia grounded to second base for a forceout. Jose Reyes nearly turned the play into a double play.
Yoenis Cespedes reached with two outs on a chopper toward the middle of the infield. Third baseman Juan Francisco had no play.
Sanchez exited the jam by striking out Mike Napoli. Napoli has struck out three times.
The Red Sox are 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position. They’ve left nine men on base.
End 8th, 4-4: Burke Badenhop benefited from some good defense in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The play of the inning was provided by Brock Holt, who has been playing shortstop in Xander Bogaerts’ absence.
Kevin Pillar hit a ground ball into the hole with one out. Holt showed good range and made a backhanded stop. He leaped while firing a strong, off-balance throw to gun down Pillar.
Munenori Kawasaki was hit by a pitch before Badenhop closed off the inning. The pitch grazed the jersey of Kawasaki, who has been on base four times.
Mid 8th, 4-4: Aaron Loup held the Red Sox in check in the eighth.
Allen Craig and Mookie Betts grounded out. Will Middlebrooks struck out.
Burke Badenhop will come back out for another inning. He ended the seventh inning with a double play after Alex Wilson gave up the lead.
End 7th, 4-4: Jose Bautista broke out of an 0-for-17 slump in a big way.
Bautista crushed a solo home run off Alex Wilson in the seventh inning. It was his 25th homer of the season.
Wilson walked Adam Lind before departing. Burke Badenhop took over.
Edwin Encarnacion drilled Badenhop’s first pitch to the warning track in left field. Yoenis Cespedes made the catch right in front of the wall.
Badenhop then induced a trademark double play. Juan Francisco, who jumped ahead in the count 3-0, hit a comebacker that Badenhop turned into a 1-6-3 twin killing.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 4-3: Another game. Another big hit for Yoenis Cespedes.
Dustin McGowan took over in the seventh inning after six innings from R.A. Dickey. Brock Holt singled, and Dustin Pedroia walked with one out.
Cespedes, who knocked in Holt for the game-winning run Monday, decided a repeat effort was in order. He singled into center field to give the Red Sox a 4-3 lead.
Brett Cecil struck out Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava to avoid any additional damage. But it didn’t take long for Boston to regain its edge.
Dickey allowed three runs (one earned) — all in the first inning — on five hits and two walks. He struck out six.
End 6th, 3-3: Alex Wilson worked the sixth inning for Boston.
Wilson surrendered a one-out double to Munenori Kawsaki. Kawasaki, who yanked a line drive into the corner, has three hits in the contest.
Wilson settled down to retire Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera. Reyes hit a little flair corralled by Will Middlebrooks in foul territory. Cabrera grounded to first base.
Mid 6th, 3-3: R.A. Dickey tossed a 1-2-3 sixth inning.
It looks like Dickey’s night is over after 106 pitches. He certainly settled down after a shaky first inning and overcame a couple of jams.
Allen Craig, Will Middlebrooks and Mookie Betts went down in the sixth.
End 5th, 3-3: Slowly but surely, the Red Sox’s lead evaporated.
The Blue Jays tied the game 3-3 in the fifth inning. Rubby De La Rosa’s night ended with two outs in the fifth.
Business really started to pick up when Adam Lind hit a sinking line drive into left-center field. Yoenis Cespedes laid out for it but couldn’t make the catch. Lind cruised into second base as Melky Cabrera, who led off with a single, took third.
Edwin Encarnacion followed Lind’s double with a ground ball to the left side. Brock Holt made the play and tossed to third base to nab Lind. Cabrera raced home with the game-tying run.
John Farrell turned to his bullpen at that point. Tommy Layne entered and induced a ground ball up the middle. There was some brief confusion between Holt and Will Middlebrooks, who was playing up the middle as part of the shift, and Juan Francisco reached safely. Encarnacion snatched third base upon realizing no one was covering the bag.
Layne escaped the inning by striking out Josh Thole.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 3-2: The Red Sox stranded two runners in the fifth inning. R.A. Dickey has completed four scoreless frames since surrendering three first-inning runs.
Brock Holt and Dustin Pedroia were retired on a couple of slow rollers to begin the fifth. Dickey then ran into some trouble with two outs.
Mike Napoli was plunked in the helmet by a pitch after Yoenis Cespedes singled into center field. It was a 78 mph knuckleball that floated away from Dickey. Napoli, who nearly took it off the face, tossed his helmet back on and made his way to first base. Beast.
Xander Bogaerts, of course, is on the seven-day concussion disabled list after being struck in the head with a pitch Friday.
Daniel Nava ended the inning with a ground ball to short.
End 4th, Red Sox 3-2: The Red Sox’s lead has shrunk.
Rubby De La Rosa issued his first two walks of the game with one out in the fourth inning. Juan Francisco walked on six pitches, and Josh Thole walked on four pitches.
Francisco took third base when Kevin Pillar flied out. He scored Toronto’s second run when Munenori Kawasaki dropped an RBI single into right field.
Jose Reyes stranded the potential tying run at third base. He flied out to left field to end the inning.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 3-1: R.A. Dickey is starting to settle in.
Dickey needed only 11 pitches to pitch a scoreless fourth inning. He induced a couple of ground outs before capping the inning with a strikeout of Christian Vazquez.
Dickey has five strikeouts thus far.
End 3rd, Red Sox 3-1: The Blue Jays are on the board.
Munenori Kawasaki led off with a base hit. Jose Reyes followed with a double down the right field line.
The Jays held Kawasaki at third base, but he’d trot home one batter later when Melky Cabrera grounded to Brock Holt at short.
Reyes took third base when Jose Bautista drilled a fly ball to Mookie Betts in center field. Reyes stayed there, as Adam Lind shot a line drive in Yoenis Cespedes’ direction to end the inning.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 3-0: Yoenis Cespedes reached to begin the third inning.
Cespedes hit a chopper down the third base line. Juan Francisco really underestimated Cespedes’ speed — he crow-hopped a couple of times before unleashing his throw across the diamond — and it proved costly. His toss was off the mark.
R.A. Dickey ensured the inning-opening miscue didn’t hurt on the scoreboard, though. He took care of Mike Napoli, Daniel Nava and Allen Craig.
Napoli and Craig both struck out swinging. Craig’s K stranded Cespedes at third base.
End 2nd, Red Sox 3-0: Rubby De La Rosa needed just six pitches to work a scoreless second inning.
De La Rosa retired Juan Francisco, Josh Thole and Kevin Pillar in order.
It took De La Rosa about 4.8 seconds to handle the three hitters.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 3-0: The Blue Jays wasted their challenge in the second inning.
Mookie Betts led off with a walk. R.A. Dickey almost caught the 21-year-old leaning, to the point where Blue Jays manager John Gibbons called for a challenge. The call on the field was upheld, though.
Betts advanced a station when Christian Vazquez dropped a single up the right field line. The Red Sox’s threat stalled when Brock Holt grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
Dustin Pedroia, who homered in his first at-bat, stranded Betts at third base. He grounded to the left side.
End 1st, Red Sox 3-0: Toronto’s first two hitters reached against Rubby De La Rosa. As he’s done several times of late, however, the right-hander buckled down when necessary.
De La Rosa overcame back-to-back singles from Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera to record three consecutive outs.
Jose Bautista, Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion scattered three fly ball outs across Boston’s outfield.
Mid 1st, Red Sox 3-0: Dustin Pedroia has homered for the second straight night.
Pedroia launched a two-run blast down the left field line off R.A. Dickey in the first inning. It was Pedroia’s third home run of August, marking his most homers in a month since July 2013.
The home run — Pedroia’s seventh of the season — came after Brock Holt reached on a strikeout to begin the ballgame. Dickey’s third strike — a knuckleball — traveled past catcher Josh Thole.
Mike Napoli singled with one out, and Allen Craig walked with two outs. Will Middlebrooks then smoked a line drive over the head of center fielder Kevin Pillar, who was named an International League All-Star on Tuesday.
Napoli scored Boston’s third run. Craig was thrown out at the plate. The umpires reviewed the play to make sure Thole didn’t block the dish, but the initial call was upheld.
7:07 p.m.: R.A. Dickey starts off Brock Holt with a first-pitch strike.
6:55 p.m.: Colby Rasmus, who apparently is feeling under the weather, has been scratched from the Blue Jays’ starting lineup. Kevin Pillar will take his place in center field.
5:20 p.m.: David Ortiz again is out of the Red Sox’s starting lineup.
Ortiz fouled a ball off his right foot in the fourth inning of Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Mariners. The slugger said Monday he initially thought he broke his foot given how painful the experience was, but John Farrell said he doesn’t anticipate the injury being a long-term issue.
Mike Napoli will serve as the designated hitter Tuesday in Ortiz’s absence. Allen Craig will receive his second consecutive start at first base.
Tuesday’s complete lineups are below.
Boston Red Sox (57-74)
Brock Holt, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Yoenis Cespedes, LF
Mike Napoli, DH
Daniel Nava, RF
Allen Craig, 1B
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Mookie Betts, CF
Christian Vazquez, C
Rubby De La Rosa, RHP (4-5, 3.69 ERA)
Toronto Blue Jays (66-65)
Jose Reyes, SS
Melky Cabrera, LF
Jose Bautista, RF
Adam Lind, DH
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B
Colby Rasmus, CF
Juan Francisco, 3B
Josh Thole, C
Munenori Kawasaki, 2B
R.A. Dickey, RHP (10-12, 4.08 ERA)
5 p.m. ET: The Boston Red Sox nearly suffered one of their most devastating defeats of the season Monday at Rogers Centre. Instead, they squeaked out a 10-inning win over the Toronto Blue Jays behind another clutch hit from Yoenis Cespedes.
The Red Sox blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning before taking down the Blue Jays in the extra frame. The talk following the contest centered on Koji Uehara’s sudden struggles, which are both stunning and concerning, though Red Sox manager John Farrell said the club hasn’t yet considered shutting down the All-Star closer. Uehara also noted that his recent woes aren’t the product of fatigue.
Monday’s victory snapped an eight-game losing streak — Boston’s second-longest drought of the season. Rubby De La Rosa will face R.A. Dickey on Tuesday as the Red Sox look to make it two straight north of the border.
De La Rosa pitched well in his last start against the Los Angeles Angels. Matt Shoemaker was lights out for the Halos in that contest, though, so De La Rosa was a hard-luck loser. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old continues to solidify a spot in Boston’s 2015 rotation with his 2014 performance.
Tuesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. Tune in on NESN and keep it right here with NESN.com’s live blog.
