Boston reliever Ryan Brasier walked Eric Sogard and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with the bases loaded to force in two runs – including the go-ahead run — in a three-run eighth inning and the visiting Toronto Blue Jays came back to defeat the Red Sox 8-7 on Saturday afternoon.
Freddy Galvis and Rowdy Tellez homered for the Blue Jays, who overcame a 6-0 deficit and scored four runs in the seventh to close the gap to one.
Christian Vazquez homered for Boston.
The Blue Jays tied the game in the eighth against Matt Barnes (3-2) on an infield single by Teoscar Hernandez, who took second on a wild pitch and scored on Cavan Biggio’s single. Barnes walked the next two batters to load the bases and was replaced by Brasier, who walked Sogard and Guerrero to give Toronto a two-run lead.
Nick Kingham (3-1) struck out three and walked one in two innings to earn the win.
Daniel Hudson pitched a perfect bottom of the eighth.
Ken Giles earned his 12th save despite allowing a ninth-inning run when Mookie Betts walked, stole second and scored on a bloop double by Xander Bogaerts.
Boston starter Brian Johnson allowed one unearned run and four hits while striking out four in five innings.
Toronto opener Derek Law allowed four runs, two hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings.
The Red Sox scored five runs in the second. J.D. Martinez and Vazquez walked. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run double and Michael Chavis extended his hitting streak to 11 games with an RBI single. Sam Gaviglio replaced Law and allowed a walk to Mookie Betts and a two-run double to Andrew Benintendi.
Vazquez hit his 10th homer of the season off the right-field pole in the third.
Toronto scored once in the fourth. Guerrero lined a single off the wall in left, took second on a wild pitch and scored when shortstop Bogaerts made a throwing error on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s infield single.
Mike Shawaryn replaced Johnson and pitched a perfect sixth with two strikeouts before giving up three runs in Toronto’s four-run seventh. Biggio singled, Galvis hit his 11th homer this season and Tellez hit his 14th homer. Marcus Walden replaced Shawaryn and walked Luke Maile, who took third on Gurriel’s two-out single and scored on a wild pitch.
–Field Level Media
