TORONTO — On Sunday night, the Red Sox used speed to win a big game against the Yankees. One day and a new country later, it was power that propelled them to their sixth victory in their last eight games.
Boston got four solo homers — including two from Canadian-born Tyler O’Neill — in the first three innings against lefty Yusei Kikuchi and went on to beat the Blue Jays, 7-3, in the first meeting between the teams this year. Pitching in his home country, Nick Pivetta bounced back from a poor last start to go seven innings, working around nine hits to allow just three runs while recording four strikeouts. With the win, the Red Sox improved to 38-35, marking the first time since May 3 they’re three games above .500.
BetMGM BET UP TO $1,500! BONUS BET REFUND AFTER A LOSS
STATES: AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org. US Promotional Offers not available in New York.
Kikuchi struck out the first two batters he faced before the Sox started taking launch. First was O’Neill’s first career homer in his native country, a 108.4 mph, 413-foot blast into the left field stands. Nine pitches later came Rafael Devers’ 14th homer of the season, a 111.1 mph rocket that marked the fourth time Sox batters have gone back-to-back this year. O’Neill has been involved in all four occasions.
Pivetta ran into a bit of trouble in the second when he issued a leadoff walk to old friend Justin Turner, who advanced on a George Springer single and then scored when Isiah Kiner-Falefa lifted a sacrifice fly to center. But the Red Sox didn’t need long to answer back as Ceddanne Rafaela led off the third with a solo shot and O’Neill followed with his second of the evening three batters later. Kikuchi lasted just four innings, allowing a hit for each of his strikeouts (7). Bobby Dalbec’s RBI single in the top of the fourth made it 5-1.
Turner, facing the Red Sox for the first time as a Blue Jay, made it 5-2 with a solo shot of his own in the sixth. But the game wouldn’t remain close long as the offense came back to life in the top of the seventh. Rafaela and Jarren Duran each laced one-out singles off lefty Tim Mayza to set the table for Rob Refsnyder’s RBI double. Devers added a sacrifice fly to make it 7-2.
Pivetta’s last blemish of the night came in the seventh when Davis Schneider took him deep to make it a four-run game. The outing marked the second time this season that Pivetta completed seven innings; he did so two starts ago against the Braves on June 5. He threw 109 pitches, marking a season-high — and his most since tossing 112 against the Astros on May 18, 2022.
O’Neill, Romy González and Rafaela each had two of Boston’s 11 hits.
Rafaela shows out on both sides of ball
In addition to his homer in the third, Rafaela made a major impact on defense, too. In the bottom of the fifth, Kiermaier led off by looping a Pivetta pitch into center field in no man’s land between Gonzalez at shortstop and Rafaela in center. Rafaela raced in and made an excellent diving catch for the first out of the frame.
Hamilton leaves game with injury
Shortstop David Hamilton left the game after two at-bats due to “left side discomfort,” according to the Red Sox. In the bottom of the fourth, González replaced him on defense by sliding from second base to shortstop and Enmanuel Valdez entered as the second baseman.
Manager Alex Cora said the team is hopeful Hamilton will avoid the injured list. The rookie entered play Monday having hit .333 with a .908 OPS in his last 28 games and stole four bases in Boston’s win over the Yankees on Sunday.
Houck looks to keep All-Star bid going Tuesday
Righty Tanner Houck (7-5, 2.08 ERA) will look to continue his bid for his first career All-Star nod in Tuesday’s middle game of the series. He’ll go up against veteran Jays righty Chris Bassitt (6-6, 3.56 ERA) with first pitch once again at 7:07 p.m. ET.
