The Boston Red Sox continued to shoot themselves in the foot Sunday afternoon, and it ultimately led to Boston getting swept by the Toronto Blue Jays in a 8-4 verdict at Fenway Park.
Boston, which now has lost nine of their last 10 games, dropped back to .500, 48-48, after the defeat. Toronto improved to 53-43 following the sweep.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The visiting Blue Jays set the tone early with five runs in the first inning against Boston's top pitching prospect Brayan Bello, who allowed five runs on nine hits in four innings. And while that's not exactly the start the Red Sox were looking for, Boston made it worse later on with a handful of defensive miscues. The Red Sox made three errors on Sunday with another ugly play in the fifth inning being scored as an infield single.
Not long after Jeter Downs made a costly fifth-inning error, a ground ball fielded by Bobby Dalbec resulted in Hirokazu Sawamura making an inexcusable mistake as he went to cover the bag. The Red Sox relief pitcher ran past first base, and it allowed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to reach on an infield single, which also allowed the Blue Jays to tack on their eighth run of the game.
A throwing error by Christian Vazquez, which was then compounded by poor backup in the field, allowed George Springer to go from first to third in the second inning, as well. Fortunately for Boston, that didn't result in another run.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Raimel Tapia, who had a inside the park grand slam earlier in the series, hit a three-run triple in the first inning to break the game open. Tapia finished with four RBIs as the left fielder went 3-for-4 at the plate.
-- Guerrero Jr. went 4-for-5 at the plate on Sunday while recording an RBI and scoring one run.
-- Three Red Sox batters finished with two hits apiece including Jackie Bradley Jr., who belted a solo home run in the sixth inning.
WAGER WATCH
Toronto's five-run first inning likely had Over bettors thrilled with their choice, as the total of over/under 10.5 was eclipsed rather easily Sunday, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox return to Fenway Park on Monday as they open up a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians. You can watch Red Sox-Guardians with NESN 360, as pregame coverage starts at 6 p.m. ET.
