The Red Sox trailed 5-1 entering the bottom half of the seventh inning Friday at Fenway Park, but these days, nothing is out of the question for Boston.
Sparked by a three-run seventh, the Red Sox clawed back into this one, ultimately defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 in 10 innings. Christian Vazquez clobbered a two-run walk-off home run to send the Fenway faithful home happy, which is becoming more and more of the theme lately.
Boston now has won eight of nine games after a strong road trip and suddenly is looking a bit reminiscent of last year’s World Series winning team. Vazquez noted that after the win.
“We’re together like last year. We’re playing like a family,” Vazquez told NESN’s Jahmai Webster following the win. “Everybody is pulling something to get the W. I did it today, somebody is going to be tomorrow and we’ll continue to win.”
Chris Sale, despite a rough outing, pointed this out as well, saying their group is feeling really good at the moment.
“We picked up some momentum on the road trip,” Sale said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Played really well the entire time, lost one tough one. Coming back here and continuing that and just good vibes. Keep it rolling, getting the first one of the series and picking me up. That was big.”
Boston now has won two of three extra-inning contests this week. The Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday in 10 innings and fell to the Minnesota Twins in a 17-inning marathon Tuesday.
Here are some other notes from Friday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game:Â
— Red Sox pinch-hitters now are hitting .450 on the season, which is the best average in the majors. Boston pinch-hitters have three home runs, four doubles and 13 RBIs this year.
Rafael Devers added to the impressive showing, tying the game with a pinch-hit, RBI-single in the eighth inning, driving in Jackie Bradley Jr.
— Vazquez is riding a seven-game hitting streak.
The catcher is hitting .375 over that span with two home runs, including his walk-off bomb from Thursday night.
— If you can’t tell, things are going well for Vazquez.
— Sale is struggling to find regular-season wins at Fenway Park.
The lefty doesn’t have a regular-season home win in eleven consecutive starts.
Despite only throwing five innings, Sale was still able to record eight strikeouts.
