Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox Box Score on Sep 04, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 4, 2017

BOSTON -- The Toronto Blue Jays hit three home runs off reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello to beat the Boston Red Sox 10-4 on Monday night at Fenway Park.

Less than a week after Porcello held the Blue Jays to one run over 6 1/3 innings to earn a win at Rogers Centre on Aug. 30, Kendrys Morales, Jose Bautista and Raffy Lopez all took him deep, knocking him out of the game in the sixth with Toronto up 7-2.

With the loss, the Red Sox (77-61) saw their American League East lead slip to 2 1/2 games over the New York Yankees, winners over the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the day. Toronto improved its AL East-worst record to 64-74.

Toronto starter J.A. Happ (7-10) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

Porcello (9-16) allowed seven runs on 10 hits with three strikeouts and one walk over 5 1/3 innings.

Steve Pearce led off the game with a double and Justin Smoak walked, giving Morales a chance to jump-start the Blue Jays in the first inning with a two-out, three-run home run to right field. The homer snapped an 0-for-14 skid for Morales.

Eduardo Nunez got the Red Sox on the board in the bottom of the second, poking a two-out single down the right field line to score Chris Young and Christian Vazquez and cut the Toronto lead to one.

Bautista took Porcello deep to center field in the top of the third, making it 4-2 Toronto. It was Bautista's fifth career home run off of Porcello, his 25th at Fenway Park and his franchise-best 42nd against the Red Sox -- also the best total of any active player.

The Blue Jays forced Porcello out of the game in the sixth, with Ryan Goins singling, Darwin Barney bringing him home on a wall-ball double to left field and Lopez hitting his third home run of the season. Lopez's two-run shot cleared the bullpen and went five rows deep into the right field stands to make it 7-2.

Christian Vazquez, Deven Marrero and Nunez hit back-to-back-to-back singles in the sixth, with Nunez's poke into right field bringing Vazquez across for Boston's third run. An inning later, Andrew Benintendi led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored when pinch-hitting Mitch Moreland's grounder took Barney deep into his position at second base, cutting the Blue Jays' lead to 7-4.

Mookie Betts had an opportunity to make things interesting in the eighth when he came up with two out and Brock Holt on second via a ground-rule double. Betts battled Ryan Tepera to a full count, but Tepera induced a fly ball to right field to end the threat.

Justin Smoak got in on the long-ball fun in the ninth, crushing a 2-2 delivery from Matt Barnes to center field and making it 8-4. Morales followed Bautista's double with one of his own to score him, and Kevin Pillar brought Morales home with a wall-ball single for the Blue Jays' 10th run.

Tim Mayza retired the side in order in the ninth to close out the win and bring Toronto's record at Fenway Park to 2-2 this year.

NOTES: Red Sox SS Xander Bogaerts returned to the lineup Monday, after sitting three straight games in the midst of a 39-for-198 slump over the last 53 games. He went 0-for-4. Eduardo Nunez, who played shortstop during Bogaerts's respite, moved to second base. ... Blue Jays manager John Gibbons missed his third straight game, tending to a personal matter. Bench coach DeMarlo Hale, a former Red Sox bench coach, acted as Toronto's manager. ... The Red Sox sat three regular starters for Monday's series opener against Toronto. Dustin Pedroia sat in favor of rookie Deven Marrero. Chris Young started in left field, replacing Jackie Bradley Jr. Sam Travis took first base over Mitch Moreland.