BOSTON — Steven Wright can’t catch a break.
The Red Sox starter has a 2.13 ERA after Sunday’s outing against the Toronto Blue Jays, but he failed to get himself in the win column in Boston’s 5-3 loss. The Red Sox’s normally potent lineup has scored three runs in Wright’s two starts this season, and they didn’t heat up until the ninth inning in this one.
On the other side of ball, Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez no-hit the Red Sox through 4 2/3 innings. Boston tried its best to come back in the ninth with a two-run home run by Travis Shaw, but ultimately, it wasn’t enough.
Here’s how it all went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Disappointing.
A loss is never fun, but in this case, the disappointment is directed at Wright’s lack of run support. It was the knuckleballer’s second quality start, but once again, the Red Sox couldn’t figure out the Blue Jays’ pitchers while he was on the mound.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
The Red Sox’s bullpen came on in the seventh.
A 2-1 score with three innings to go would have been doable for Boston, but with the way Toronto pitched Sunday, the four-run deficit the Red Sox’s relievers created going into the bottom of the ninth was too much to bounce back from, even with the comeback bid.
ON THE BUMP
— Wright had another commendable day on the mound, and some of Toronto’s heaviest hitters couldn’t figure the knuckleballer out. Josh Donaldson couldn’t get one hit against Wright, while Jose Bautista struck out twice after hitting a home run in the first inning.
That homer was part of a rough first inning, during which Wright gave up two runs on Bautista’s solo shot followed by three straight singles. He pulled it together through the rest of his outing, however, ending the day with two earned runs on six hits with no walks, two hit batters and six strikeouts over six innings.
— Tommy Layne came on in the seventh, surrendering a single to Ryan Goins before striking out Michael Saunders. Noe Ramirez came in and allowed a double off the wall to Donaldson, which scored Goins.
Donaldson ended up scoring on an Edwin Encarnacion RBI single after Ramirez struck out Bautista. He struck out Troy Tulowitzki to end the inning.
— Robbie Ross Jr. got himself into some trouble in the eighth after giving up singles to Russell Martin and Kevin Pillar with one out, but Goins grounded into a double play to end the threat.
— Matt Barnes struggled out of the gate in the ninth. Singles by Saunders and Donaldson put runners on to start, and Bautista brought Saunders home on a double. Barnes struck out Encarnacion and Tulowitzki, walked Justin Smoak to load the bases, then struck out Martin to end the inning.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Marco Hernandez had quite an MLB debut, going 1-for-2 with a walk, a run and a stolen base. His single in the fifth inning broke up Sanchez’s no-hit bid.
— Mookie Betts knocked in Hernandez with an RBI single in the fifth and went 1-for-4. Hanley Ramirez singled in the ninth to go 1-for-4, too, and added a run.
— Shaw came up big with a two-run home run in the ninth inning, going 1-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.
— David Ortiz walked twice and went 0-for-2. Ryan Hanigan also reached base on a walk and went 0-for-2.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Yoan Moncada had a pretty good day down in Single-A Salem.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox play their famous 11:05 a.m. ET Patriots’ Day game to close out their series against Toronto. Clay Buchholz will get the ball against Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
