Justin Smoak responded to a Boston rally with a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning as the visiting Toronto Blue Jays went on to rough up the Red Sox 10-4 Tuesday night.
Smoak's towering blast to right-center on the first pitch of the frame immediately followed a three-run Red Sox fifth that made it 4-4. Teoscar Hernandez earlier hit a three-run shot, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had three hits as the Blue Jays won for just the third time in their past nine games.
Justin Shafer (1-1) earned his first major league victory with one inning of scoreless relief.
Xander Bogaerts homered among three hits, and Mookie Betts also had three hits for Boston, which fell for the third time in four games.
Andrew Cashner started and struggled in his Red Sox debut. The right-hander, acquired Saturday from the Baltimore Orioles for two minor-leaguers, was tagged for six runs (five earned) on eight hits and two walks in five-plus innings. He struck out two.
After Bogaerts gave Boston a 1-0 lead with his first-inning blast, Cashner (9-4) put two men on in the second for Hernandez, who crushed a changeup over the Green Monster in left-center field to give Toronto a 3-1 lead.
Smoak made it 4-1 with an RBI single in the third.
While Cashner continued to labor, Jacob Waguespack was cruising along for the Blue Jays in his first major league start until the fifth.
With two outs, Michael Chavis singled and Brock Holt doubled to put pressure on the rookie. Betts then drove in a pair with a single, and after a Rafael Devers walk, Bogaerts singled home Betts to knot the score.
Waguespack was pulled then, having given up four runs on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.
After Smoak's blast, a throwing error and wild pitch by Red Sox reliever Josh Taylor in the sixth helped the Jays to a 6-4 lead.
Boston put two men on in both the sixth and seventh but failed to score. Toronto then put the game away with a four-run ninth.
--Field Level Media
Toronto | Boston | |
Jacob Waguespack | Player | Andrew Cashner |
No Decision | W/L | Loss |
4.2 | IP | 5.0 |
2 | Strikeouts | 2 |
6 | Hits | 8 |
7.71 | ERA | 9.00 |
Toronto | Boston | |
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | Player | Xander Bogaerts |
3 | Hits | 3 |
0 | RBI | 2 |
0 | HR | 1 |
6 | TB | 7 |
.600 | Avg | .750 |