BOSTON — The Red Sox climbed over the .500 mark in the standings with a 5-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night at Fenway Park.
The Sox have won three of four games against the defending American League East champions to begin the season.
Red Sox starter Rick Porcello pitched well, picking up his second victory in as many outings. He also was helped by a red-hot offense that’s now scored five or more runs in seven of nine games.
Here’s a recap of Boston’s win over Toronto.
GAME IN A WORD
Opportunistic.
All five of Boston’s runs came on two-out hits.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel secured the win for Boston with his third save of the season. He struck out Justin Smoak to end the game.
ON THE BUMP
— Rick Porcello made quick work of the Jays with a 1-2-3 first inning, but he gave up a solo homer to Edwin Encarnacion in the second frame. The veteran starter retired the side in order in the third, fourth and fifth innings, at one point setting down 12 straight batters.
Porcello cruised into the seventh inning with one hit allowed, but then he gave up a walk to Jose Bautista and another homer to Encarnacion, trimming the Sox’s lead to 5-3. Porcello gave up two hits, three earned runs, walked one and struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings. Sixty of his 100 pitches were strikes.
— Junichi Tazawa relieved Porcello in the seventh inning and recorded the final two outs of the frame.
— Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless eighth inning and struck the final two batters of the frame.
— Kimbrel is a perfect 3-for-3 in save opportunities after a scoreless ninth inning. He did give up a hit and a walk, though.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Xander Bogaerts collected Boston’s first hit with a first-inning single. He scored later in the frame. Bogaerts went 1 for 4.
— David Ortiz knocked in the game’s first run with an RBI double that hit the top of the center field wall. He finished 1 for 2 with a run scored, an RBI and two walks.
— Travis Shaw drove in two runs with a double in the first inning that gave the Sox a 3-0 lead. He was thrown out at third trying to stretch it into a triple, though. He went 1 for 2 with a pair of walks.
— Christian Vazquez hit a double in his first major league at-bat of the season in the second inning. He missed a homer over the Green Monster by about two feet. Vazquez finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored.
— Mookie Betts extended Boston’s lead to 4-1 with a second-inning RBI single. He went 1 for 5.
— Hanley Ramirez and Brock Holt were the only Red Sox starters without a hit.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. went 2 for 4 with a strikeout.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Blue Jays play the second of their four-game series Saturday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. ET. David Price (Boston) versus Marco Estrada (Toronto) is the expected pitching matchup.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
