The Boston Red Sox struggled in many facets Wednesday night and were dealt a 6-1 defeat by the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park.
With the loss, Boston moves back to .500 with a 6-6 record while Toronto improves to 7-5 on the season.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta continues to not have his best stuff at his disposal this season. For the second straight start, Pivetta failed to make it into the fifth inning.
The second frame stained Pivetta’s outing against the Blue Jays. Staked to a 1-0 lead, Pivetta coughed it up immediately, allowing a two-run home run to Ramiel Tapia. Pivetta then struggled with his control — he threw 43 pitches alone in the second — as he walked three batters, which ended up haunting him with the Blue Jays tagging Pivetta for a total of five runs in the inning.
Pivetta settled down after that and ended up going four innings and surrendering seven hits while also issuing four free passes and striking out four.
Pivetta started the season as Boston’s No. 2 starter behind Nathan Eovaldi, and will be in that spot at least until Chris Sale returns from injury, but Pivetta has just not been good enough to start this season.
STARS OF THE GAME
— José BerrÃos kept Boston’s bats relatively quiet through his six innings of work. BerrÃos gave up a lone run off of an RBI single by J.D. Martinez, who left the contest in the third inning, but didn’t allow the Sox to score another run off of him. BerrÃos scattered eight hits while walking only one and striking out six.
— Phillips Valdéz is working himself into a go-to option out of the bullpen for the Red Sox. Valdéz came in for Pivetta and pitched two scoreless frames in relief. Valdéz has been a contributor in an impressive Boston bullpen as he hasn’t allowed a run in seven innings of work this season.
— Tyler Danish, who hadn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2018, also starred out of the ‘pen. Danish tossed two scoreless innings and struck out five Toronto batters.
WAGER WATCH
Bettors could have cashed in right away if they elected to bet on the first run being scored in the first inning. It wouldn’t have netted them a large payout, though, with the odds set at -120 by DraftKings Sportsbook for that to happen.
A $100 wager would have paid out, $183.33.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox close out their first homestand and three-game series with the Blue Jays on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET, and you can watch it on NESN following an hour of pregame coverage.
