Triston Casas needed a game like this.
Mired in a terrible slump to start the season and coming into the game 0 for his last 11, the rookie stepped to the plate three straight innings with a chance to either tie the game, put the Red Sox ahead or otherwise do serious damage. He delivered with back-to-back game-tying RBI singles and then crushed a fly ball to the warning track in the sixth that on a slightly less windy night would have been an easy grand slam.
“That was one of my best swings of the season, honestly,” Casas said of the deep fly out. “Everything evens out, the baseball gods know everything and they got me that hit that last at bat. … I’m confident everything will even out and I’m just doing my best to swing at good pitches and barrel them up as often as possible.”
Casas finished 3 for 5 with two RBI, helping power a somewhat odd but still decisive 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. With the win Boston has now won five straight and matched its win total against Toronto from all of last season with a chance to complete the sweep on Thursday.
Though the wind hurt the Red Sox on Casas’ ball in the sixth, it helped Nick Pivetta early on. The Red Sox starter allowed a lot of hard contact and was probably saved from at least two home runs by the wind blowing in from left field, but he got better as the outing went along and finished with his first quality start of the season.
Pivetta allowed three runs on five hits, walked one and struck out six over six innings, with the damage coming primarily on a pair of solo home runs by Daulton Varsho and a titanic 450-foot moonshot over the Green Monster by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The third run came as a result of a bizarre sequence in the top of the fifth where Pivetta was called for a balk with Kevin Kiermaier at third, which allowed the Blue Jays outfielder to score and make it 3-2 Toronto.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said afterwards that there was some kind of misunderstanding over Pivetta’s windup, which the umpire perceived to be deceptive even though it appeared identical to a similar windup from a couple of pitches earlier.
“We’ve got to check with the league, that’s the first time they called a balk with him from the windup when he declares himself,” Cora. “We’ll check because he’s been doing that the whole season.”
The incident wound up proving inconsequential, as the Red Sox came right back with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take control of the game. Boston loaded the bases with two outs and the slumping Casas came through with his second RBI single of the game to tie the score, and then the Red Sox added a pair after an Enmanuel Valdez grounder took a weird bounce and ate up Guerrero behind the first base bag.
Though that play was eventually switched from an error to a two-run single, Toronto’s defense was a mess all night, with the Blue Jays ultimately being dinged with four errors.
Toronto starter Alek Manoah, who finished third in the AL Cy Young voting last season, hasn’t been as sharp this season and was noticeably shakier after taking a Rafael Devers line drive off his right leg in the fourth. He allowed three straight singles afterwards and finished with five runs allowed (two earned) on eight hits, a walk and three strikeouts.
Boston tacked on a run in the sixth when Yoshida ripped a comebacker off Blue Jays reliever Anthony Bass, which allowed Connor Wong to score from third, another in the seventh on a Yoshida RBI double and again in the eighth on a Kiké Hernández RBI single.
Yoshida (2 for 4, two RBI) extended his MLB-long hitting streak to 13 games and is now batting .303 with a .906 OPS on the season. Jarren Duran also had a great night, reaching base four times with an RBI double and two walks.
The Red Sox wound up leaving a lot of runs on the table after they stranded 12 runners on the game, but from the fifth inning onwards Pivetta, Chris Martin, Kutter Crawford and Ryan Brasier combined to send down 15 of 17 batters to end the game. Toronto got one last chance when Guerrero and Matt Chapman reached with two outs in the eighth, but Crawford got Varsho to ground out and the Blue Jays never seriously threatened again.
Now they are on the verge of being swept in four games by a Red Sox team they beat 16 out of 19 times a year ago.
One worrying development for the Red Sox, Crawford left the game with one out in the ninth after appearing to injure himself following a 12-pitch at bat against Alejandro Kirk. The club announced he’s dealing with left hamstring tightness and they’ll know more on Thursday.
Brayan Bello (0-1, 6.57 ERA) gets the ball for Boston against Toronto’s Kevin Gausman (2-2, 2.33), with first pitch slightly earlier than normal at 6:10 p.m. Should Boston (18-14) win they would not only complete the sweep but jump Toronto (18-13) in the AL East standings.