The Red Sox continue to roll, completing their four-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night at Fenway Park.
Boston’s bats made Toronto pitching pay by combining for 58 hits and 32 runs over the course of the four games.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after the game that he liked the way the team’s offense was grinding at-bats to get to the opposing pitchers throughout not just this series, but the season as a whole, especially Toronto starter Kevin Gausman, who has had success against Boston in the past.
“We didn’t have a lot of swings and misses on strikes,” Cora told reporters as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “We put pressure on him on the bases. … And today, I think we had the personnel to do that compared to last year. And we got on, and we were looking to put pressure on him.”
The Red Sox offense tapped Gausman in the first inning when Masataka Yoshida launched a 400-foot bomb to center, giving Boston the early 1-0 lead.
“Obviously, the big swing by Yoshida right away put us in a good spot,” Cora said. “Then the team was good (at the plate), and it was just fun to watch. … Overall a great, great game.”
Cora said the lineup of young contributing players is what’s helping to get it done for the Red Sox offensively.
“The kids are doing a better job,” Cora said. “Jarren (Duran), he’s not swinging and missing as much. (Enmanuel) Valdez, now that he’s here, he’s putting the ball in play, and that’s something that’s very important.
“I like this offense. I like where we are right now. I know how (Triston Casas) had a great day at first base. That was fun to watch. You know, just running, you know, and putting pressure on the opposition. … They’re going to make it work, and that was the goal and so far so good.”
Here are more notes from Thursday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game:
— Justin Turner went 3-for-5 from the plate with three singles and an RBI. He was one of five batters to have multiple hits in the win against Toronto.
“I know the ability to have quality at-bats up and down the lineup was there,” Turner said on NESN’s postgame coverage. “And you saw this series. You saw this homestand really. It’s not one guy getting it done; it’s one through nine. Getting quality at-at bats, making their starters work really hard. Getting them out of the game, and then taking advantage of the bullpen.”
— Yoshida extended his MLB-best hitting streak to 14 games, going 3-for-5 at the plate with three RBIs.
“He’s a special hitter,” Turner said of the Red Sox rookie. “He’s got real loose hands, and the ball jumps off his bat. He uses the whole field. He’s really smart. He’s prepared and it’s been fun to watch.”
— With the sweep of the Jays, the Red Sox completed the homestand 6-1 with the lone loss to the Cleveland Guardians on April 28.
— The Red Sox travel to Philadelphia on Friday to start their three-game series against the Phillies, the first of eight games versus National League opponents. First pitch from Citizens Bank Park is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET. and you can catch all the action, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
