The Boston Red Sox have seen the Toronto Blue Jays put together big offensive innings against them before at Fenway Park this season.
And it happened again on Tuesday night in a 9-3 loss for the Red Sox, which sent them tumbling to three games under the .500 mark.
Toronto’s potent offense got the better of spot starter Josh Winckowski this time around by putting up eight runs in the third inning, and no one would blame Red Sox manager Alex Cora if he thought he was experiencing déjà vu.
“They’re putting good innings against us, big innings. It’s crooked numbers whenever they score,” Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “They are not striking out too much against us. We’ve had some OK games against them, but most of the time, they’ve been hitting us the whole season.”
The Blue Jays scored all eight of their runs in the third with two outs, only leading to the frustration for Boston.
Winckowski couldn’t get the needed final out to get out of the frame as his woes persisted. He’s now allowed 12 runs over his last two starts and in four outings in the month of August, the rookie right-hander has yielded 24 hits in 18 1/3 innings.
“When he was throwing well, I think the stuff was a lot better,” Cora said. “The movement and the sinker is a little bit different I do believe compared to early in the season. Velocity-wise and movement too. He did a good job the first couple of innings. We scored some runs there and we needed a shutdown inning. We were one pitch away, and all of sudden you look up, they score eight. That has happened a lot to us.”
Cora added: “We got to be better. We got to throw strikes and let the defense do the work. We got good stuff, but if we’re down in the count, can’t put guys away with two strikes, it’s going to be tough to do it.”
Here are more notes from Tuesday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game:
— The Red Sox have lost six of seven games played against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park this season. Toronto has outscored Boston, 59-18, in those contests.
— The Red Sox lost two starters due to injury in the loss. Tommy Pham exited the game in the top of the third inning due to low back spams while Xander Bogaerts experienced back spasms as well and was removed in the seventh inning.
Cora told reporters following the game that Bogaerts and Pham will not be in the lineup on Wednesday.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. made his first trip to Fenway Park as an opposing player, which came with some confusion for the veteran. He sure seemed right at home though as he went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored batting out of the No. 9 spot in Toronto’s lineup.
— Rafael Devers seems to be returning to form after being in a slump. The 25-year-old third baseman got on base four times and finished 3-for-4 with an RBI.
— With Blue Jays holding a sizable lead, catcher Reese McGuire pitched the ninth inning for the Red Sox, and he retired the side in order.
— The Red Sox will continue their three-game series against the Blue Jays from Fenway Park on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, with NESN 360.
