Red Sox beat Blue Jays 7-6, as Rafael Devers hits 20th home run
By IAN HARRISON Associated Press
TORONTO - Rafael Devers hit his 20th home run, Justin Turner homered and scored three times and the Boston Red Sox spoiled Canada Day celebrations in Toronto by holding on to beat the Blue Jays 7-6 Saturday.
Right fielder Alex Verdugo threw out Bo Bichette at home plate for the final out of the game after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI single off Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen. George Springer scored on the play, but Bichette was tagged out by catcher Caleb Hamilton. Toronto's challenge was unsuccessful.
Verdugo's assist gave Jansen his 17th save in 20 chances.
Devers went 3 for 5 with three RBI and scored twice. Turner finished 3 for 5 with two RBI as Boston returned to .500 at 42-42. The Red Sox are 37-13 when scoring four or more runs.
Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run, and Springer and Bichette both had solo homers, but the Blue Jays dropped to 16-28 all-time on Canada's national holiday, disappointing a sell-out crowd of 41,813.
The Blue Jays wore red hats and jerseys for their eighth Canada Day meeting with the Red Sox. Toronto is 2-6 in those games.
Red Sox right-hander Kutter Crawford (3-4) pitched 5 2/3 innings to win for the second time in three starts as Boston won its second straight following a season-worst five-game losing streak.
Chapman scored from third base on Josh Winckowski's errant pickoff throw in the seventh, then made it a one-run game with an opposite-field home run in the eighth, his 11th.
Jansen replaced Winckowski after Danny Jansen walked to put runners at first and second. After both runners advanced on a double steal, Cavan Biggio lined a ball to right field but his drive landed just foul. Jansen struck out Biggio on a full-count pitch to preserve Boston's lead.
Turner made it 7-5 with a leadoff homer off Erik Swanson in the ninth, his 13th.
The Red Sox are 6-0 against Toronto this season after losing 16 of 19 meetings last year. The Blue Jays last lost six straight to Boston in 2018.
Springer opened the scoring with his 56th career leadoff home run and fourth this season. Only Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson (81) hit more.
Springer's 12th home run of the season came on an 0-2 pitch.
Devers answered with a two-run homer off left-hander Yusei Kikuchi in the third, but Bichette's homer, his 15th, tied it in the bottom half.
Toronto's Kevin Kiermaier hit Crawford in the right hip area with a line drive in the fifth. The ball ricocheted to catcher Caleb Hamilton, who threw the speedy Kiermaier out at first base.
Kikuchi (7-3) allowed five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings to lose for the first time since May 24 at Tampa Bay. He struck out two and walked seven.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Red Sox: Masataka Yoshida stayed in the game to run after he was hit on the right leg by a pitch from Nate Pearson in the seventh, but was replaced by Triston Casas in the ninth. Yoshida was the DH Saturday.
Blue Jays: Kiermaier returned after missing the past four games because of a sore back.
ALL SQUARE
Boston is 21-21 at Fenway Park and 21-21 on the road.
MANOAH MOVES UP
Blue Jays RHP Alek Manoah will start at Double-A New Hampshire on Sunday, his second minor league outing. Manoah allowed 11 runs and 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings in a rookie-level Florida Complex League game Tuesday. A 2022 All-Star and AL Cy Young finalist, Manoah was demoted June 6 after going 1-7 with a 6.36 ERA in 13 starts.
ROSTER MOVES
Toronto recalled RHP Thomas Hatch from Triple-A Buffalo and optioned RHP Trent Thornton to Triple-A.
UP NEXT
RHP Kevin Gausman (7-4, 3.01 ERA) starts Sunday as Toronto tries to avoid the sweep. RHP Garrett Whitlock (4-3, 5.15) goes for the Red Sox.