When it rains, it pours.
And between the seventh inning and the actual weather during the Boston Red Sox’s 9-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Buffalo on Wednesday, it certainly poured.
The Red Sox bats certainly were quiet, but they were still in the game until the Blue Jays scored five runs in the seventh inning.
Meanwhile, Boston didn’t record a hit after the fourth inning, held to a season-low three hits. It was a many as Toronto’s Rowdy Tellez, who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two home runs off Red Sox starter Colten Brewer.
Tellez has gone yard in the Majors 31 times, with 29 percent of those homers being hit against the Red Sox, per Barstool Sports’ Jared Carrabis.
“We obviously didn’t get too too much going,” Jackie Bradley Jr. said in his postgame media availability. “They did a really good job of making some pitches, especially when they needed to. They played great defense when we did hit the ball hard, they made some big stops. They were able to limit the damage we could do.”
After scoring nine runs against the Blue Jays in the first game of the series, manager Ron Roenicke hoped Boston would continue that production.
“It seems like what we talk about a lot is, I expect our guys to get it going and be consistent in the hitting,” Roenicke said. “I know we did hit some balls hard tonight at people but still didn’t swing obviously as well as we did last night.
“Sometimes when you have a lot of guys coming in you don’t settle down, and we didn’t today…. the game was a pretty good game until the blow-up inning.”
Here are some other notes from Boston’s loss:
— While the Boston-Toronto game was happening, there were more important issues the world of professional sports.
The NBA and some MLB teams decided to postpone their games, following the Milwaukee Bucks, who boycotted their NBA playoff game in light of the shooting of Jacob Blake. One has to wonder if the Red Sox and Blue Jays would have played had the game been scheduled for a later time, rather than 6:35 p.m. ET, which is earlier than most.
Bradley and Roenicke spoke to that, saying the timing didn’t allow for the Red Sox to have a discussion. However, they’re in full support of the teams who did opt not to play.
“You always think about it,” Bradley said, when asked if current events made it difficult for him to suit up for the game. “I still felt like I wanted to be there for my team, not saying that they wouldn’t have supported me, I’m sure that they would have supported be whole-heartedly, but I obviously think about it.
“I think voices are being heard. Hopefully changes are being made and we just have to continue to grow, continue to push forward and try to be better as individuals and together as well.”
— The Red Sox used four pitchers Wednesday, including the starter Brewer, who went 3 2/3 innings and gave up four earned runs on five hits. Roenicke, though, is still searching for more.
“Brewer did go four today, kind of a struggle to get there, but we’re still looking for those starters to give us some length and try to be able to fill it up and keep us close enough for us to stay in the ballgame,” Roenicke said.
— Mitch Moreland leads the Red Sox in home runs on the season, and has now hit eight balls out of the park.
— As for Alex Verdugo’s production? All good things must come to an end.
The outfielder has been a bright spot in Boston’s batting order this season, but his 14-game hitting streak came to an end Wednesday after going for 0-for-4 at the plate.
— The Red Sox still have a shot take the series against the Blue Jays on Thursday. First pitch is at 6:37 p.m. ET and Chris Mazza will get the start.
