The Boston Red Sox appear to be hitting their stride at just the right time. The Toronto Blue Jays? Not so much.
The Red Sox have won seven of their last 10 games to surge to a two-game lead in the American League East over the Blue Jays, who are 3-7 over that same span. Friday night encapsulated the state of both clubs, as Boston steamrolled over a sloppy Toronto club in a 13-3 rout at Rogers Centre.
There still are two games left in the teams’ crucial three-game series, though, and the Blue Jays apparently took steps Saturday morning to ensure they wouldn’t repeat Friday’s lackluster effort.
The Jays indeed put their clubhouse on lockdown, as reporters were forced to wait outside as the players hashed things out.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was not involved in the players-only meeting but he certainly agreed that something needed to change after an ugly loss that saw the club make a number of defensive miscues.
Team meetings are not uncommon for scuffling clubs and often can be the impetus for a turnaround — just ask the Red Sox, who won 13 of their next 17 games after manager John Farrell called a team meeting in late June.
Toronto had better hope that’s the case; the Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees are separated by just two games in the AL wild card race, meaning the Jays are in danger of missing the playoffs altogether if they can’t get back on the winning track.
Thumbnail photo via John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports Images
