The Red Sox saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end against the Blue Jays on Monday night. Boston went down quietly in a 7-2 loss to Toronto to fall to 42-32 on the season.
With Garrett Whitlock still on the injured list, the Sox recalled Connor Seabold from Triple-A Worcester to make the second start of his major-league career in Monday’s series opener.
Seabold, who last pitched an inning for the WooSox on Friday, had a tough go of things in his first outing north of the border. The right-hander got rocked for seven earned runs on nine hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with seven strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of work.
After issuing a leadoff walk to the very first batter he faced in George Springer, Seabold gave up an RBI double to Bo Bichette. He then stranded Bichette at third base and retired the side in order in the second, making it seem as though he was about to settle in.
That was not the case, however, as Seabold served up a 422-foot solo shot to Springer and a 414-foot two-run blast to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the bottom of the third. On the heels of a scoreless fourth inning, he put runners at first and third with one out in the fifth. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. drove in one of those runners on an RBI groundout, then Matt Chapman plated two more on a 362-foot two-run homer to left field.
Chapman would prove to be the last Blue Jay Seabold would face. The 26-year-old was given the hook after throwing 86 pitches (54 strikes). While the results were not all that positive, he did induce 21 total swings-and-misses with his four-seam fastball, changeup, and slider. The 21 whiffs are the most recorded by a Red Sox pitcher in a game this season.
In relief of Seabold, Tyler Danish received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Danish, making his first appearance in six days, retired the only batter he faced to end the fifth inning. From there, Austin Davis and Hirokazu Sawamura each worked a pair of scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh while Hansel Robles did the same in the eighth.
To that point in the contest, the Jarren Duran-less Red Sox lineup had been thoroughly held in check by Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman. It took until the third inning for Boston to get its first hit off Gausman. That happened when Bobby Dalbec reached base via a two-out single. Dalbec then stole second base, but was left there after Rafael Devers grounded out to extinguish the threat.
In the sixth, Devers laced a 90 mph double that deflected off the second-base bag and put a runner in scoring position with one out. Xander Bogaerts then drew a two-out walk, but Alex Verdugo followed by flying out to Springer in center field.
Christian Vazquez made it up to second base with two outs in the seventh. Gausman did not allow him to advance any further than that by fanning the last batter he faced in Dalbec. In three starts against the Red Sox this year, Gausman has allowed one two runs (one earned) over 21 innings. That is good for an ERA of 0.43.
David Phelps kept Toronto’s hopes of a shutout alive in the eighth, but former Red Sox pitching prospect Shaun Anderson did just the opposite in the ninth. Anderson, who was pitching against the team that drafted him for just the second time in his big-league career, made things a bit interesting.
Back-to-back singles from Bogaerts and Verdugo to lead off the inning put runners on the corners for Trevor Story, who scored his side’s first run on a sacrifice fly.
Verdugo moved up to third on a Vazquez single and scored from there on a Dalbec RBI single that deflected off Anderson. Rob Refsnyder then wrapped up a hitless night by flying out to center field to end the game.
All told, the Red Sox went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position on Monday and left eight runners on base as a team. They are now 2-6 against the Blue Jays so far this season.
Next up: Wacha vs. Stripling
The Red Sox will look to bounce back and keep their hopes of a series win alive in the middle game of this three-game set with the Blue Jays on Tuesday night. Michael Wacha will get the start for Boston while fellow right-hander Ross Stripling will do the same for Toronto.
First pitch from Rogers Centre is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. eastern time on NESN.
(Picture of Connor Seabold: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
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