The Boston Red Sox won their sixth straight game completing the four-game sweep of the Blue Jays by defeating Toronto 11-5 on Thursday night at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox jumped a half-game ahead of the Blue Jays in the American League East standings by improving to 19-14 on the campaign while the Blue Jays fell to 18-14.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Since joining the Blue Jays, starting pitcher Kevin Gausman has been successful against Boston hitters with a 2.65 ERA in six starts.
That all changed in the series finale when the Red Sox bats connected early and often against Gausman, chasing the veteran pitcher in the fourth inning after tapping the right-hander for eight runs off of 10 hits, including a five-run second inning.
Brayan Bello was solid off the mound for Boston giving the Red Sox five innings of work. Toronto did get to Bello in the fifth scoring three of their four runs off the righty.
Boston, who had five batters with multiple hits in the win, exploited the Toronto bullpen in the bottom of the eighth tagging Zach Pop for three runs on two hits capping off an outstanding offensive showing by the Red Sox.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Masataka Yoshida extended his MLB-best hitting streak to 14 games with a first-inning bomb. The rookie went 3-for-5 at the plate knocking in three RBIs.
-- Rafael Devers went yard for the 150th time in his career in the bottom of the eighth inning and added his eighth double of the season to his resume. The third baseman finished the night 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
-- Kiké Hernández struggled at the plate, but made up for it with his glove in the infield. Hernández flashed the leather in the top of the seventh inning robbing Kevin Kiemaier of a base hit when he nabbed the line drive to short.
WAGER WATCH
Yoshida seems to be the sure bet these days. FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds that the rookie would hit a home run at +750. The left-fielder connected for his sixth bomb of the season for an $850 payout on a $100 wager.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox travel to Philadelphia to start their three-game series against the Phillies, the first of eight versus National League teams on Friday. 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.
