The Boston Red Sox have the highest-scoring offense in baseball, and they needed all of it Sunday afternoon.
The Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays duked it out at Rogers Centre in a high-scoring battle of American League East heavyweights, but Boston delivered the final blow to earn an 11-8 win in the teams’ series finale.
The victory helped the Red Sox regain their two-game lead over the Blue Jays in the AL East and end their nine-game road trip with a 6-3 record.
GAME IN A WORD
Blast.
If you like offense, you loved Sunday’s game. The Sox and Jays combined to score 19 runs on 19 hits, six of which were home runs. A whopping 18 pitchers were used (nine for Boston, nine for Toronto) in a 3-hour, 46-minute slugfest at Rogers Centre.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Big Papi came up clutch once again.
David Ortiz crushed a three-run homer off Joaquin Benoit to turn an 8-7 deficit into a 10-8 lead, marking the last of five lead changes in this wild, seesaw contest.
ON THE BUMP
— Clay Buchholz couldn’t find the plate during his brief outing, and the Blue Jays made him pay.
The right-hander’s outing began ominously when he surrendered a solo home run to Edwin Encarnacion in the first inning. Things went from bad to worse in the third inning, as Buchholz walked three batters in the frame — including a bases-loaded free pass that brought home a run — before Troy Tulowitzki victimized him with a first-pitch grand slam.
Buchholz’s day ended after that inning, as he surrendered six runs in three innings while walking four and striking out three. He threw just 35 of his 63 pitches for strikes.
— Heath Hembree worked the fourth and gave up a massive two-run homer to Encarnacion that broke a 6-6 tie. Hembree struck out two but allowed two runs and also issued a walk.
— Noe Ramirez recorded one out in the fifth but was removed after allowing a single to Tulowitzki.
— Robbie Ross Jr. retired the final two batters of the fifth and faced one batter in the sixth, giving up a leadoff single to Ryan Goins.
— Brad Ziegler allowed a runner to reach on an error but otherwise retired the side in the sixth. He struck out the first two batters he faced in the seventh but exited after walking Tulowitzki.
— Fernando Abad faced just one batter, giving up a hit to pinch hitter Melvin Upton Jr. with two outs in the seventh.
— Matt Barnes induced a fielder’s choice to Kevin Pillar to end the seventh.
— Koji Uehara gave up one hit in the eighth, but induced an inning-ending double play to set things up for Craig Kimbrel in the ninth.
— Kimbrel issued a leadoff walk but retired the next three batters he faced — two on strikeouts — to pick up his 25th save.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— The Red Sox struck in the first when Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar got a bad read on a Mookie Betts line drive, allowing Ortiz to score all the way from first base.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. crushed a three-run homer in the second inning to put Boston up 4-1. The Red Sox center fielder had a big day in the No. 9 spot, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
— Xander Bogaerts delivered a clutch two-out, two-RBI single in the fourth that tied the score at 6-6. Bogaerts finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored for his second two-hit game in three days.
— Hanley Ramirez joined the party in the fifth with a frozen rope home run to center field, his 23rd of the season, that traveled an estimated 444 feet.
— Brock Holt cost the Red Sox a chance to tie the game in the fifth inning when he was thrown out trying to steal home with two outs. Holt had a nice day at the plate, though, reaching base four times on a hit and three walks and scoring two runs.
— Ortiz made that blunder irrelevant in the sixth, however, launching a historic three-run homer that put Boston up 10-8.
— Sandy Leon helped tack on an insurance run in the seventh with an RBI double that scored Holt from first.
— Dustin Pedroia (2-for-5, two runs scored) delivered another two-hit day and now has a 29-game hitting streak against Toronto.
TWEET OF THE DAY
We don’t blame you, David.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox return home Monday to begin a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles, with David Price scheduled to pitch Game 1. First pitch at Fenway Park is set for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports Images
