The Boston Red Sox wanted no part of a series sweep Sunday.
After dropping the first two games of their three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Red Sox rebounded to take the finale at Rogers Centre by a final score of 6-3.
Clay Buchholz earned the win for Boston to improve to 2-4 on the season. Toronto starter R.A. Dickey took the loss.
GAME IN A WORD
Reassuring.
The Red Sox proved that they can, in fact, score runs, plating six after managing just one over the previous two games. Buchholz’s performance also gave Red Sox fans a lot to like.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Koji Uehara worked around a two-out walk — his first free pass of the season — to shut the door on the Jays in the ninth.
ON THE BUMP
— Buchholz struggled out of the gate, tying his season high with three walks in the first inning alone. He managed to escape the opening frame unscathed, however, thanks to a double play.
The right-hander retired the side in order in both the second and third innings, but the Jays finally got on the board in the fourth. Edwin Encarnacion smacked a one-out single to center, advanced to second on a groundout and came home on a base hit by Milford, Mass., native Chris Colabello.
Toronto added another in the fifth, with Devon Travis and Josh Donaldson stroking back-to-back two-out doubles.
Buchholz allowed a leadoff double to Josh Thole in the bottom of the seventh and was given the hook one batter later. All told, it was a one of the better outings of the season for the 30-year-old, who picked up his first victory since Opening Day.
— Junichi Tazawa relieved Buchholz and allowed Thole to score from third on an RBI groundout, making it 6-3 Boston. The right-hander then got Josh Donaldson to fly out to the warning track in right to retire the side.
The Blue Jays historically have feasted on Tazawa, but he was able to complete his 1 2/3 innings of work without incident. Jose Bautista led off the eighth inning with a single, but Tazawa wiped him off the basepaths via 5-4-3 double play.
— Uehara finished things off in the ninth to pick up his sixth save of the season and the 100th of his career.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— After sleepwalking through the first two games of the series, the Red Sox’s offense enjoyed a much-needed hot start Sunday. Mookie Betts tripled to lead off the game, and Dustin Pedroia drove him in with an RBI groundout to give the Red Sox their first lead of the series.
Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar nearly robbed Betts with what would have been a fantastic diving catch, but the ball squirted out of his glove as he fell to the turf.
Pablo Sandoval also doubled in the first, and Mike Napoli launched a three-run home run to put Boston ahead 4-0. Sandoval’s two-bagger snapped a streak of nine consecutive games without an extra-base hit for the third baseman.
— The Sox came alive again in the fifth. Hanley Ramirez smoked a two-out single to left field, and Sandoval followed by sending a Dickey offering over the wall in right-center. That two-run blast put Boston ahead 6-1.
— Napoli reached base three times in the ballgame, homering and walking twice. Sandoval, the team leader in hits, average and on-base percentage, was the only Boston batter to finish with multiple hits.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. made his season debut after earning a call-up from Triple-A Pawtucket. He went 0-for-4 with one strikeout.
TWEET OF THE GAME
[tweet https://twitter.com/bradfo/status/597449690146213888 align=’center’]
UP NEXT
The Red Sox now head to the West Coast, where they’ll begin a three-game series against the Oakland A’s on Monday.
Thumbnail photo via Peter Llewellyn/USA TODAY Sports Images
