Stop us if you’ve heard this before: the Boston Red Sox completed the comeback to win.
That trend continued once again during a hazy Monday night at Fenway Park when Alex Verdugo, once again, played hero in Boston’s 5-4 win against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Verdugo broke up the no-hitter during Sunday’s win against the New York Yankees, and gave the Red Sox a 5-4 lead in the eighth with a two-run home run that he certainly was due for.
With the win, the Red Sox moved to 62-39, while the Blue Jays fell to 49-47.
Here’s how it all went down:
GAME IN WORD
Rally.
Never count the Red Sox out, especially in the eighth inning.
ON THE BUMP
— Pivetta got through the first two innings unscathed before allowing the Blue Jays to get on the board in the third inning.
A single and a walk brought Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to the plate, who ripped a single to left to score Reese McGuire from second to cut into Boston’s lead, 2-1.
Marcus Semien dropped a single to center field to tie the game at 2-2 with nobody out.
Pivetta pitched a 1-2-3 fourth before running into some trouble in the fifth, when George Springer led the frame off with a double. The pitcher got Guerrero and Semien out, but Bo Bichette gave Toronto the 4-3 lead with a two-run home run that ended Pivetta’s night.
— Phillips Valdez got Teoscar Hernandez to strike out to end the inning.
The right-hander returned for the sixth and tossed a 14-pitch, 11-strike inning before throwing a scoreless seventh.
— The eighth belonged to Adam Ottavino who pitched a scoreless inning.
— Matt Barnes closed out the game in the ninth.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— The Red Sox got on the board first in the second inning when Hunter Renfroe doubled and scored on a Verdugo single in the next at-bat to make it a 1-0 game. A walk and a bloop single loaded the bags up for Michael Chavis, who hit into a fielder’s choice to put Boston up 2-0.
The damage was limited to just those two runs before the inning came to a close.
— Rafael Devers did not let the game stay tied for long when he took the second pitch of his at-bat and got it out of Fenway in a hurry to put the Red Sox ahead, 3-2.
— The bats went cold until the eighth inning, and once again it was Verdugo who helped the Red Sox to the comeback.
— With Hunter Renfroe on first by way of a walk, Verdugo blasted a two-run shot to center field over the bullpen for the 5-4 lead and eventual win.
TWEET OF THE GAME
That’s quite the company.
UP NEXT
The series continues Tuesday night at Fenway Park. Garrett Richards is expected to take the hill for the Red Sox, opposite of Robbie Ray. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET on NESN.
