After taking two of three from the Yankees over the weekend, Red Sox manager Alex Cora preached the importance of his team staying laser-focused as they began their road trip with a three-day trip to Rogers Centre. On Wednesday, behind a Houdini act by starter Brayan Bello and a couple of big hits from Jarren Duran, the Sox finished off a three-game sweep of Toronto to stay rolling.
Enmanuel Valdez and Jarren Duran each homered for the Red Sox in Wednesday's win
Boston beat the Jays, 7-3, to extend its winning streak to five games and its overall record to 40-35. Bello worked out of constant traffic to go six innings while Duran and second baseman Enmanuel Valdez powered the offense with solo homers. The Red Sox have now won seven of eight and eight of 10; they’re five games above .500 for the first time since May 1, when they were 18-13.
The previously scuffling Bello had runners in scoring position against him in the first five innings he pitched, but only surrendered two runs in six frames. Toronto went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position against him, leaving eight on base. Bello spent much of his outing pitching with the lead and recorded his first quality start since May 22.
The Sox got on the board in the third thanks to two Jays errors, with Romy González reaching on one and then scoring on a David Hamilton RBI single. Valdez doubled the lead with a long blast down the left field line, his sixth homer of the season. Up 2-0 in the fourth, Bello’s early-inning trouble finally bit him.
Addison Barger, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Kevin Kiermaier all singled, with Kiermaier’s knock making it 2-1. Justin Turner then hit in a 6-4-3 double play to plate another run before Bello got Vlad Guerrero Jr. to hit a rocket liner to González in center to tie the game. It wouldn’t stay knotted long.
Duran, adding to his All-Star candidacy, took starter Kevin Gausman way deep to center with one out, giving the Sox the lead again with a 433-foot blast (also his sixth of 2024). An inning later, after another Bello escape, González drove in Masataka Yoshida with an RBI single, then Duran made it 5-2 with one of his own. Things tightened up in the seventh when Turner scored on a Justin Slaten wild pitch.
With a two-run lead again, the Red Sox jumped all over reliever Ryan Burr in the eighth, leading off with three straight hits (including a Dom Smith RBI double that scored Valdez) and extending the lead to four. Justin Slaten tossed two scoreless innings in relief of Bello before Chris Martin, making his first appearance since returning from the injured list due to a bout with anxiety, tossed a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation; he made a barehanded play on a chopper while falling backwards for the second out of the inning.
The Red Sox kept the pressure on Toronto with their speed, stealing five bases (they were 5-for-5). Duran, Hamilton and Valdez each had two of Boston’s 10 hits.
Trip to Cincinnati up next
The Red Sox are off Thursday before traveling to Cincinnati to face the Reds for three games over the weekend. The Reds are 35-39 entering play; the Red Sox have played just five games at Great American Ball Park since 2014 (2017, 2022).
Here’s the schedule (along with pitching probables) for the series:
Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET — RHP Kutter Crawford (3-6, 3.54 ERA) vs. LHP Andrew Abbott (5-6, 3.42 ERA)
Saturday, 4:10 p.m. ET — RHP Nick Pivetta (4-4, 3.88 ERA) vs. RHP Frankie Montas (3-5, 4.62 ERA)
Sunday, 1:40 p.m. ET — TBD vs. TBD
