Toronto jumped out to a four-run lead in the first before the Red Sox came storming back to eventually tie the game 5-5. The Jays received a couple of big blasts from J.P. Arencibia and Jose Bautista, though, which spelled the end of the Sox’ chances.
Boston spoils a solid night from David Ortiz, who left the yard twice to up his season total to 20 and his career total to 398.
It was a long night at Fenway, but it’s far longer for those wearing a Red Sox uniform.
Stick with NESN.com for more postgame coverage.
Mid 9th, Blue Jays 9-6: Nice work by Clayton Mortensen tonight. He retired the side in order again in the ninth, giving the Sox a chance to come up with the deficit still at three runs.
Mortensen tossed 2 1/3 perfect innings in total after the lengthy rain delay.
The Sox will send Kalish, Punto and Nava to the plate in the ninth.
End 8th, Blue Jays 9-6: After Ortiz’s second home run of the game made it 9-6, Will Middlebrooks threatened to cut into the lead some more, lifting a flyball off the wall in left. He scampered over to second for a double, but Darren Oliver got Cody Ross to go down swinging to end the inning.
Clayton Mortensen, who worked through the top of the eighth rather quickly, will come back out for the ninth.
Also on for Boston is Brent Lillibridge, who makes his Red Sox debut in his first game since arriving via the Kevin Youkilis trade. He takes over in right field.
11:45 p.m., Blue Jays 9-6: David Ortiz connects on another long bomb, and the Sox are trying to chip away here.
The blast is Ortiz’s second of the game and the 398th of his big league career. It’s the second time this season Ortiz has homered twice in the same game.
This blast came off Darren Oliver. His first of the contest came off starter Henderson Alvarez back in the first inning.
Mid 8th, Blue Jays 9-5: Clayton Mortensen made quick work of the Blue Jays in the eighth, retiring the side in order.
Adam Lind pinch hit for Ben Francisco to begin the inning, and Mortensen got him to fly out on the first pitch he threw. The righty followed that up with a strikeout of J.P. Arencibia, who took starter Felix Doubront deep earlier in the game.
Mortensen capped off the inning by flashing some leather. He snagged a comebacker off the bat of Brett Lawrie and tossed it over to first to end the frame.
End 7th, Blue Jays 9-5: The Jays must have worked on their glove work during the rain delay, as a pair of nice plays kept the Red Sox offense in check.
Ryan Kalish kicked things off in the home half of the seventh with a base hit through the right side. He then swiped second, moving up into scoring position for Nick Punto, who subsequently flew out to left field.
The next batter, Nava, got a good piece of one, ripping it down to first base. Edwin Encarnacion made an excellent play on the backhand, though, meaning Kalish could only advance to third.
Kalish would then go no further, as Jose Bautista — who had a big miscue on a Dustin Pedroia hit earlier in the game (six or seven years ago, it seems) — made a nice diving play to end the inning.
Mid 7th, Blue Jays 9-5: One pitch after a one hour, 56-minute rain delay, we hit the seventh-inning stretch.
Francisco Cordero comes on for the Jays, with Kalish, Punto and Nava due up for the Sox. If anyone reaches, it’ll be Pedroia’s turn.
11:25 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: We’re just about ready to rock and roll here at Fenway after a rain delay that lasted nearly two hours.
Clayton Mortensen will take over on the hill for the Red Sox. He’ll face Rajai Davis to lead things off.
In case you forgot, it’s the top of the seventh inning, and Davis is in the hole 1-2 to begin things.
11:16 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: Congratulations to the Arizona Wildcats, who have won the College World Series.
11:12 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: One person having some fun during this rain delay is Omar Vizquel. The Jays’ veteran infielder could be seen busting a move in the Toronto dugout.
How about everyone else? How are you all spending your rain delay?
11:10 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: We’re about 15 minutes away from baseball, and the fans are starting to file back to their seats. It looks like most of the Fenway Faithful may have called it a night, though (understandably so).
10:55 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: It looks like play will resume at 11:25 p.m.
10:45 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
It looks like the tarp is about ready to come off the field after a pretty lengthy rain delay.
If there’s one photo that sums up the madness of the storm that just ensued, this is it.
Scary lightning, indeed.
10:15 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: As we wait for Mother Nature to stop unleashing her fury on the Fenway Faithful, it’s also a good time to get you guys up to speed on some of today’s baseball happenings.
Check out some links below to catch up on what you might have missed.
Will Middlebrooks Now Has Peace of Mind With Consistent Playing Time At Third Base >>
Daniel Bard’s Comeback Campaign Goes Awry in Pawtucket (Video) >>
Kevin Youkilis Let Adam Dunn Work Out in His Old Red Sox Jersey, Plans to Frame It Eventually >>
Marlon Byrd’s Suspension Puts Outfielder’s Baseball Career Very Much in Jeopardy >>
10:08 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: As we continue to wait out this rain delay here at Fenway, now is as good a time as any to recap what we’ve seen thus far.
The Jays jumped out to a 4-0 first-inning lead, with Felix Doubront up against the ropes early. It looked briefly like he wouldn’t even make it out of the first inning, as the Sox had Clayton Mortensen warming up in the bullpen, but Doubront managed to make it through six innings.
Doubront actually settled down nicely at one point, but he surrendered two runs apiece in the sixth and seventh innings, giving the edge back to the Blue Jays.
A few notable 0-for-3 performances are scattered throughout the Boston lineup. Daniel Nava, hitting leadoff, is 0-for-3. So is Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who is hitting cleanup, and Will Middlebrooks, who is starting his first game at third base since the Kevin Youkilis trade.
9:57 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: Yeah, so much for that rain letting up. Then again, I never said I was a meteorologist.
9:56 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: The rain started to let up a bit, but it’s the lightning that could remain the issue. As the streak that just jetted across the sky indicates, this storm is far from over.
9:52 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: The Fenway Park DJ is allowing us to enjoy this during the rain delay, so you should enjoy it too…Because who doesn’t like a little “Danger Zone?”
9:50 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: It has turned into a light show at Fenway, with lightning effectively illuminating the ballpark and scaring the crap out of everybody in sight.
If the movie trailer for Ted is any indication, that bear would not approve of the current scene.
9:35 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: This Red Sox rain delay is presented by L.L. Bean.
Not only do we have rain here at Fenway, but we’ve got some thunder and lightning to report. Just minutes after the tarp was rolled out onto the field, a bright flash was followed up by a huge bang.
We had been lucky for the first part of this game, with mostly blue skies covering the field of play. We’ve since reverted back to the mid afternoon grossness, however, with steady rain falling as I type.
It’s still fairly warm here, but we could be in store for a good break in the action. Stay tuned, though.
9:29 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: Well, the rain is coming down hard enough to warrant a delay.
With two outs and a 1-1 count on Rajai Davis in the top of the seventh, we have a stoppage.
9:23 p.m., Blue Jays 9-5: When it rains, it pours — both literally and figuratively.
As the rain starts to roll in at Fenway, the Blue Jays are grabbing back control of this game. Jose Bautista just left the yard for his 24th home run of the season, extending the Jays’ lead to 9-5.
Quick side note on Alvarez: He left as a precaution for what’s being described as elbow soreness. It looked at times like it was his back, but it instead is an arm issue.
9:20 p.m., Blue Jays 7-5: …And here comes the rain at Fenway. Ugh.
End 6th, Blue Jays 7-5: Nice work by Frasor in the sixth. He retired Gonzalez, Middlebrooks and Ross in order after taking over for Alvarez.
The book is now closed on Alvarez. He allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits while striking out two and walking one in five innings of work.
The book will also close on Felix Doubront, who was definitely frustrated with himself after giving up a two-out bomb to Arencibia in the sixth.
Doubront went six innings, allowing seven runs (five earned) while striking out two and walking one. He’ll give way to Matt Albers in the seventh.
9:09 p.m.: Henderson Alvarez is coming out of this ballgame. He’ll be replaced by Jason Frasor.
Alvarez received a visit from the trainer back in the third inning after he appeared to tweak his back. He gutted it out and delivered three pitches to Adrian Gonzalez this inning before another visit, at which point the Blue Jays decided enough was enough.
Mid 6th, Blue Jays 7-5: Doubront continued rolling to begin the inning, retiring Yunel Escobar on a groundout to short before striking out Rajai Davis. The success ended there, though.
After Doubront froze Davis with a four-seam fastball to record the K, Ben Francisco lifted one to center that Ryan Kalish wasn’t able haul in as he backtracked against the wall. It resulted in a double and set the table for J.P. Arencibia.
Arencibia — who is actually friends with Patriots wide receiver/cornerback Julian Edelman — blasted a two-run shot off the Sports Authority sign in left, giving the Jays a 7-5 edge.
End 5th, 5-5: Both starters have been up and down tonight, and through five, we’re knotted up at five.
Dustin Pedroia led off the fifth with a high flyball down the right-field line. It took Jose Bautista into the corner — a spot that wasn’t kind to him earlier — but he was able to corral it for the first out.
David Ortiz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each followed up with groundouts to second, and Felix Doubront takes the hill for a sixth inning of work.
Mid 5th, 5-5: It looked at one point like Doubront wouldn’t make it out of the first inning, but he’s managed to make it through five.
Doubront has only struck out one batter tonight — after striking out 13 Jays in 11 1/3 innings earlier this season. That goes to show it hasn’t been easy, but as of right now, we’re back where we started.
Doubront issued a two-out walk to Edwin Encarnacion in the fifth, but it didn’t amount to much, as he retired Kelly Johnson on a lineout to second to end the frame.
End 4th, 5-5: Nick Punto grounded into a 4-6-3 double play after Kalish’s game-tying single. Daniel Nava then hit a frozen rope to left field that took Rajai Davis back to the warning track, but it was hauled in for out No. 3.
Alvarez is starting to struggle a bit here as this game goes on. That’s something Alvarez has become known for at times, so we’ll see how much longer John Farrell runs him out there.
8:37 p.m., 5-5: After a rough start to this game, the Red Sox have pulled even. Cody Ross led off the bottom of the fourth with a double into the left-field corner, and Ryan Kalish followed up with an RBI single.
The Sox look like they have Henderson Alvarez on the ropes. The Toronto righty hasn’t quite looked the same since a visit from the team’s trainer last inning.
Mid 4th, Blue Jays 5-4: The momentum feels like it’s shifting a bit. Felix Doubront worked a 1-2-3 fourth, and the Sox bats will go back to work.
The flawless inning was not without some nifty defense, though, particularly by Nick Punto. He made a nice play charging in on a ball, and then showed an ability to go into the hole before firing over to first to retire Brett Lawrie.
Adrian Gonzalez made a nice stretch to retrieve Punto’s throw in the dirt on the backhand.
End 3rd, Blue Jays 5-4: Henderson Alvarez was one strike away from working back-to-back three-up, three-down innings, but Dustin Pedroia ripped a two-out offering into center field to keep the inning alive. That proved to be huge.
Alvarez was a bit shaken up after allowing the Pedroia single, forcing John Farrell and the team’s trainer to go out and check on the right-hander, who looked to be favoring his back. Things got worse from there.
Pedroia quickly took off for second on a stolen base attempt. J.P. Arencibia’s throw appeared to beat Pedroia, but Yunel Escobar didn’t get the tag down. The Toronto shortstop may have gotten Pedroia on the toe, but the call went in Boston’s favor.
Matters got worse yet again for the Jays when Pedroia sprung up and headed for third, drawing an errant throw from Escobar that allowed Pedey to reach third.
After David Ortiz worked a walk off Alvarez, who still went after the slugger with a heavy dose of fastballs, Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a scorcher that ate up Kelly Johnson at second, leading to Boston’s third run.
Adrian Gonzalez figured, “Hey why not?” He also ripped one at Johnson, who again couldn’t make the play. It was ruled a base hit, but you can bet it’s one he’d like another crack at.
The Sox plated two unearned runs in all, and we’ve got a one-run game on our hands. Doubront heads out for another inning of work.
8:10 p.m.: Kevin Youkilis may have changed the color of his socks, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still keep tabs on him. And we’ve got an interesting story to pass along.
Youkilis, who is batting second for the White Sox this evening, actually let his new teammate Adam Dunn work out in his old Red Sox jersey prior to tonight’s game. Youk said he plans to frame it eventually.
Click here for the full story on Youkilis and Dunn >>
Mid 3rd, Blue Jays 5-2: The Blue Jays are really getting some good wood on the ball.
Edwin Encarnacion led things off with another base hit, giving Toronto its ninth hit of the game. He was quickly erased off the basepaths, though, when Saltalamacchia gunned him down at second on a failed hit and run attempt.
Yunel Escobar picked up a two-out base hit, but Dustin Pedroia made a leaping catch to rob the next better, Rajai Davis, of a hit.
End 2nd, Blue Jays 5-2: Nice inning by Henderson Alvarez, who endured some struggles of his own in the first. He retired the Sox in order, allowing the Blue Jays to get back to taking their cuts.
Will Middlebrooks grounded out to his counterpart in Brett Lawrie at third to begin the inning, and Cody Ross — fresh off a two home run game — flew out to center for out No. 2. Ryan Kalish then rolled over a slider to second base for the final out.
Felix Doubront is heading back out for a third frame, but there hasn’t been much to suggest he’ll make it through it. We shall see.
Mid 2nd, Blue Jays 5-2: Another inning of ugliness from Doubront and the Sox.
Ben Francisco promptly went to work to begin the frame by shooting a leadoff double into the left-center field gap. He would advance to third two batters later, when Brett Lawrie chopped a high bouncer to third and hustled to beat out Middlebrooks’ throw.
Colby Rasmus, who has already had his fingerprints all over this game with a two-run homer in the first, followed up with an RBI single to extend Toronto’s lead to 5-2.
The always dangerous Jose Bautista grounded into a double play on the first pitch he saw to end the inning, but things haven’t been easy in the early going for the Sox. We’ll see if Doubront comes back out for more. It wouldn’t be surprising if he didn’t though, as Clayton Mortensen has already been up in the Boston pen on two separate occasions.
End 1st, Blue Jays 4-2: David Ortiz’s 397th career home run was a bomb, sailing over the bullpen in right-center. In fact, it wasn’t too far from the Jordan’s Furniture sign above The Triangle.
Most importantly for the Sox, Ortiz’s blast cut Toronto’s lead in half.
Scoring ahead of Ortiz was Dustin Pedroia, who went the other way for what initially looked like a base hit. Jose Bautista, whose arm strength can’t be disputed, showed there’s some flaws in the rest of his defensive game, though, allowing the ball to roll past him along the right-field wall. In other words, it was one of those fluky Fenway plays we often see.
Following the Ortiz home run, Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out. It came after a nice at-bat in which the Boston catcher saw 10 pitches. It’s definitely one of those plate appearances that you don’t like the result, but can’t complain about the battle.
We’ll see if Doubront can’t get on track and keep the Blue Jays offense at bay in the second, thus allowing the Sox bats to get back up there.
7:37 p.m., Blue Jays 4-2: The Red Sox have gotten two runs back in the bottom half of the first, as David Ortiz blasted one over the bullpen.
Mid 1st, Blue Jays 4-0: Yeesh.
Ugly start to this game for Doubront and the Red Sox. The left-hander struggled with his command and was hit hard from the get-go.
The inning was highlighted by a two-run homer by Colby Rasmus, which bounced off the top of the right-field wall, and a double by Edwin Encarnacion that brought Jose Bautista around to score.
Toronto’s fourth run came in when Rajai Davis grounded into a force out. A couple of factors came in to play on Davis’ grounder to shortstop. First, Nick Punto is in the lineup at short tonight, and Mike Aviles perhaps could have spun the double play bid a little bit quicker. Also, with the speedy Davis running, the chances of the twin killing were slim as it was.
Doubront is only charged with two earned runs in the inning, as the other two are unearned as a result of Will Middlebrooks’ error. Nevertheless, a few balls were hit right on the screws.
7:20 p.m, Blue Jays 3-0: The Jays have jumped on Felix Doubront early, leading to Clayton Mortensen already getting up in the Boston bullpen.
Brett Lawrie did what he does best in being a catalyst for the Jays, and Colby Rasmus followed up with a two-run shot, his 14th of the season. That put the Jays up 2-0 just two batters in, but the damage didn’t stop there.
Will Middlebrooks bobbled a ball down at third, allowing Jose Bautista to reach. The error even drew some “Youk” chants from the crowd. Interesting, to say the least.
Edwin Encarnacion followed with a bullet off the Monster in left-center, plating Bautista and increasing the Jays lead to 3-0.
7:11 p.m.: Doubront kicks, wheels, deals, the offering…
7:10 p.m.: The Red Sox have taken the field, and we’re ready for baseball. Felix Doubront looks for win No. 9.
Doubie is 1-0 in his two starts against Toronto this season. He’s allowed four earned runs in 11 1/3 innings while striking out 13 Blue Jays.
6:55 p.m.: After a gross afternoon in the Boston area, we’ve got blue skies at Fenway. Hopefully it holds up, but it’s encouraging considering it looked 50/50 at one point as to whether or not we’d have baseball tonight.
Some interesting pregame notes to pass along before we get things under way here at the Fens:
In case you haven’t heard, Will Middlebrooks was named the AL Player of the Week. It’s well deserved, as Middlebrooks completely raked this week, hitting .625 (10-for-16) with three bombs.
Brent Lillibridge, meanwhile, arrived in the Boston clubhouse for the first time, and he seems excited to join his new club. Lillibridge should bring plenty of versatility to the Sox.
Also, former Red Sox outfielder Marlon Byrd was suspended 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
Here are some links for you all to check out in order to read up on those topics a little more in depth.
Will Middlebrooks Named American League Player of the Week >>
Marlon Byrd’s Suspension Puts Outfielder’s Baseball Career Very Much in Jeopardy >>
5:05 p.m.: Here’s a look at the starting lineups for Monday night’s AL East clash.
Red Sox
Daniel Nava LF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
David Ortiz DH
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Will Middlebrooks 3B
Cody Ross RF
Ryan Kalish CF
Nick Punto SS
Blue Jays
Brett Lawrie 3B
Colby Rasmus CF
Jose Bautista RF
Edwin Encarnacion 1B
Kelly Johnson 2B
Yunel Escobar SS
Rajai Davis LF
Ben Francisco DH
J.P. Arencibia C
Interesting to see Salty sliding into the cleanup spot. It marks just the third time he’s hit in that spot in the lineup this season. In his previous two games hitting fourth, the Boston catcher is 3-for-7 with a home run and two RBIs. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Gonzalez move back into that spot before long, but Salty clearly provides more power there at this point.
5 p.m.: The new look Red Sox, sans Kevin Youkilis, will look to get to Henderson Alvarez on Monday night. As expected, Adrian Gonzalez and Will Middlebrooks will play first and third, respectively.
It’s a combination that we’ll now finally see on a regular basis with Youkilis out of the mix. Bobby Valentine said prior to the game that he hopes a steady lineup spot for Middlebrooks will yield solid results, although he’s already impressed with what the youngster has provided down at the hot corner despite his fluctuating role. Considering Middlebrooks was just named the AL Player of the Week, it’s scary — at least for Boston’s opponents — to consider what kind of production we could be in store for going forward.
Perhaps we’ll now finally see Adrian Gonzalez get into a groove as well. His power numbers have been down this year, and Valentine — as well as many members of Red Sox Nation — seems to think his bouncing around could have something to do with that. Fortunately, he’ll bounce no longer.
Valentine did tell The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo that we will see Gonzalez in right field again this season: “In the World Series.”
8 a.m. ET: Interleague play has ended and the Red Sox will shift gears to divisional play. The Red Sox will open up a three-game series against the Blue Jays as they attempt to continue a move up the AL East standings. Boston will look to pitcher Felix Doubront, who is 8-3 with a 4.31 ERA, to lead the team to a third straight victory.
In his last outing, Doubront didn’t have his best performance in the sweltering heat, allowing four runs over six innings against the Marlins. This time around, Doubront will go up against Blue Jays pitcher Henderson Alvarez, who is 3-6 with a 4.30 ERA. The right-hander gave up six runs on 11 hits, while striking out one and walking two in four innings in his last start.
For more details and analysis from Fenway, follow NESN.com’s live blog. Tune into NESN’s pregame show at 6 p.m. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
