The Tuesday, August 29, 2017

* The Boston Globe

Christian Vazquez homers again, and that’s a good sign for Red Sox

Peter Abraham

TORONTO — For a player with only six career home runs, Christian Vazquez is remarkably adept at enjoying them.

He watches the ball soar, lingering a bit at the plate before walking a few steps toward first base. Then comes a steady jog around the bases, but nothing too fast. He is a catcher, after all.

When he gets to the plate, Vazquez looks up and points, a tribute to his deceased brother, Gabriel. Then comes a celebration in the dugout.

“I try to have fun,” Vazquez said. “Why not, right?”

As well he should given the history of his homers. All have come in games the Red Sox won with three giving his team a lead in the seventh inning or later.

It happened again Monday night. Vazquez’s two-run shot in the seventh inning gave the Sox a lead and they held on to beat the , 6-5.

That snapped a four-game losing streak for the Sox and rebuilt their lead in the American League East to 3½ games on the Yankees, who were beaten at home by Cleveland.

Vazquez was 4 for 4 and also doubled. He is 29 of 83 (.349) since the All-Star break with eight extra-base hits and nine RBIs. He also has drawn seven walks and stolen three bases.

A player who made it to the majors on the strength of his defense has become a dangerous hitter.

“Be simple at the plate. Don’t try and do too much,” said Vazquez, who has six career home runs, four this season. “Get it to the middle or to right field . . . It’s fun to enjoy the game and get a couple of hits.”

After a weekend of numbing offensive woes against Baltimore, the Sox collected 12 hits, five for extra bases.

Drew Pomeranz (14-4) put 12 runners on base in six innings but only three scored. The Jays were 3 of 14 with runners in scoring position against the lefthander.

“It was a struggle with my command and pretty much everything most of the game,” Pomeranz said. “I was able to make key pitches when I needed to the most.”

Pomeranz has a 2.31 in his last 14 starts and hasn’t taken a loss since June 11. The Sox are 18-8 in games he has started, 11-2 in the division.

Pomeranz had defensive help, particularly in the fifth inning.

With a 3-2 lead, Toronto loaded the bases with one out. With the infield at -play depth, Kevin Pillar a ball that Rafael Devers fielded 20 feet behind the bag while straddling the foul line.

The rookie looked at first but threw instead to the plate. Vazquez kept his foot down for a force out.

Pomeranz then caught a line drive off the bat of Darwin Barney to end the inning.

Pomeranz thought the play by Devers changed the game.

“I didn’t really know what he was going to do with it. I thought he was going to throw it across,” Pomeranz said.

Said manager John Farrell: “He threw a strike from about 115 feet. A key play at that time in the game.”

Devers was less impressed.

“That was the only play I had,” he said. “Basically, I was thinking if the ball was hit hard to me, I would go for a double play. In that situation, the only play I had was to go home.”

Coming into the game, the Sox had scored one run in their previous 22 innings, which essentially required Farrell to change the lineup.

But he went beyond the call of duty and dropped Hanley Ramirez out of the cleanup spot all the way to seventh.

Ramirez had hit .210 since the All-Star break with 15 RBIs.

“I think probably Hanley would be one of the first ones to acknowledge that this month in particular has been a tough stretch for him,” Farrell said.

Ramirez (2 for 4 with two runs against the Jays) has had a disappointing season but leads the team with 19 home runs and still offers the potential to carry the offense, something he did last September with aplomb.

Farrell last hit Ramirez seventh on June 22-23, 2016. Ramirez had a 1.005 OPS over his remaining 78 games with 70 RBIs.

“He’s got a long track record,” Farrell said.

But how long can the Sox wait for that history to show itself?

“He’s a big part of our lineup and we fully expect him to be that part. But at the same time . . . you just don’t hold out hope that when the calendar turns things change,” Farrell said.

The change worked out well.

With Toronto up, 3-2, left the game after six effective innings. Danny Barnes came out of the bullpen and Ramirez (2 for 4) singled up the middle.

Vazquez then launched a to left field, sending an 0-and-2 pitch into the second deck.

After Eduardo Nunez drew a one-out walk, was next out of the Toronto bullpen.

Andrew Benintendi doubled to center, which would have scored Nunez had the ball not bounced over the wall. Toronto intentionally walked Mookie Betts to load the bases, a strategy that failed when Mitch Moreland reached on an infield hit.

Facing Ryan Tepera, Xander Bogaerts walked to force in a run.

Pomeranz, Addison Reed, and Brandon Workman retired nine in a row to hand a three-run lead to Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning.

Kimbrel walked rookie backup catcher Raffy Lopez to start the inning. With two outs, Justin Smoak homered to right field.

Kimbrel then walked Jose Bautista, bringing Kendrys Morales to the plate.

On April 20, Morales homered off Kimbrel in the ninth inning with the Jays trailing, 1-0. This time he popped up to shortstop.

It was the second time this season Kimbrel walked two batters; the first was April 9.

The Sox are 8-3 against Toronto this season, 6-1 at Rogers Centre. Of the 31 games left in the season, eight are against the last-place Jays.

Red Sox need Chris Sale to return to winning form

Nick Cafardo

TORONTO — We’re all grown-ups in Red Sox Nation, so let’s face the reality that if Chris Sale doesn’t become the dominant Chris Sale again, there’s no hope for the playoffs or World Series. None of it will happen. How do you like that pressure?

We’ll be doing our best Jim Mora impersonation.

“Playoffs?”

This whole team was based on the starting three at the top of the rotation. Always was and that’s still the case.

When manager John Farrell says it starts with the starting pitching, he’s absolutely right. When this journey began, Dave Dombrowski knew he had three studs at the start of the rotation. One of them was going to be the lead dog. It could have been David Price just as it could have been Rick Porcello, two Cy Young Award winners. But it turned out to be Chris Sale, a six-time All-Star.

The Red Sox have depended on him to be the top dog. He’s been the star. He’s been the event. He’s been the shutdown guy. But not lately. It’s not alarming yet but if he should have a stinker against Toronto Tuesday night, well that might set off some bells.

After Sale had his horrible outing vs. Cleveland (three innings, six earned runs), Porcello followed with his bad one and Eduardo Rodriguez followed with his. Did you ever think Doug Fister would the day? Drew Pomeranz, who is quietly having that very good No. 2 starter season, was the winner in the Red Sox’ 6-5 victory Monday night at Rogers Centre. He is 14-4 with a 3.23 ERA.

On Tuesday, the focus will be on Sale.

The Blue Jays aren’t the Indians, so if Sale struggles again, it’s not just a Cleveland problem. No, it then becomes everyone’s problem because the centerpiece of your team is struggling and he can’t find a way to get back to greatness.

Let me repeat: Sale has to be great again for the Red Sox to go anywhere.

If you disagree, then you’re looking through those colored glasses. And right now the vision you see in them is of Chris Sale.

And Sale knows all of this. He’s not ‘Oh, I’ll just do my part’ and the rest will fall into place. No, he has to be the stopper after losses, the guy who gets the team back on a roll with a dominating performance. Farrell is right, the starting pitchers set the tone because this team isn’t like the Orioles — offense first, pitching second. The Red Sox are a pitching first team.

So what’s been going on since Sale’s last start? Sale said he was going back to the drawing board. He was supposed to be watching a lot of video, going over games and what he did wrong. But he pretty much knew what he did wrong. He uncharacteristically made a lot of bad pitches that leaked back over the plate. There are few major league pitchers who can get away with poor execution. Sometimes even the greats have this issue.

You can recall Roger Clemens’s heyday with the Red Sox. As dominating as he was, once in a while he’d go through a slump of two or three starts and you had no idea why. How could someone who threw the baseball that well, that precisely, that hard with that kind of movement ever get hit? Well, he did.

And so the hope inside this Red Sox circle is that this is one of those stretches. And before you know it, maybe even as early as Tuesday night, Sale will snap out of it and all will be well again.

This week was normal, but slightly different, pitching coach Carl Willis said.

“Well you know he threw a bullpen yesterday,” Willis said. “He’s thrown some bullpens between starts. He’s not a guy who feels he needs to do that all the time. We looked at some videos. Without getting too deep into it, we just want to be consistent with all aspects of his delivery and we’ve all watched and detected some little things and try to make sure it’s consistent.”

While Sale lasted only three innings vs. Cleveland, “I thought his stuff was good against the Indians. There were times he missed some places, command-wise. And obviously big league clubs make you pay,” Willis said.

So is it a Cleveland thing or just an August slump?

“You can’t overlook the fact that in two outings vs. the Indians this year, they’ve really had his number like nobody else has. It can’t be impossible that the two worst days he had, they got those results.”

Sale is very simple in his preparation. He’s a workaholic in the gym with all of his cardio work and agility exercises, but he doesn’t watch a lot of video to prepare for a start.

“He doesn’t have to because he has a good feel for his delivery,” Willis said. “Even now, there’s nothing glaring that can be detected with his delivery. Yet little things we want him to be consistent with.”

Not going to tell me what they are?

“No, I’m not,” Willis said.

Assistant pitching coach Brian Bannister concurred that in their deep video study of Sale there was nothing major that stood out.

And the downturn doesn’t seem to be associated with any physical ailment. We’re reasonably sure that even with the 170-plus innings and the stress that high totals can cause on the arm, Sale is probably not fatigued to the point where he’d have to go on the disabled list.

If Sale had to choose a team he would “rebound” against, Toronto isn’t a bad choice. In 10 career appearances (seven starts) Sale is 5-2 with a 1.68 ERA.

So we’ll see if Sale fixed the “little things” because in the big scheme of things, there’s nobody more important on the 2017 Red Sox.

Chris Young’s heart is with his family in Texas

Peter Abraham

TORONTO — Like anybody else in that situation, Chris Young’s first instinct was to get home as quickly as he could to help his family escape the flooding in Houston.

But both airports are closed and many of the roads are impassable because of Tropical Storm Harvey. The Red Sox outfielder also had an obligation to stay with the team.

“That’s part of our lifestyle, so I can’t be there,” Young said Monday before the Sox played the Toronto Blue Jays.

Fortunately, most of Young’s immediate family found shelter after evacuating their homes because of rising floodwaters. He has been in contact with them by telephone.

“They’re finding safe places to go to try and wait this out and see what happens,” Young said. “It’s just tough out there right now. All I can do is see the video and pictures and all that. You just hope everybody is all right.”

Young grew up in the Houston suburb of Bellaire but now lives in Arizona. His parents, sister and other members of his family still live in the Houston area.

“That’s all that’s really important, that they’re safe,” he said. “Personal belongings and stuff, that stuff is just stuff. That’s not important, just as long as they’re safe and healthy and out of danger.”

Come game time, Young focuses on his job as best he can.

“When you step on the field you’re able to get away for a second,” he said. “I’m talking to my family every hour. They keep me in the loop. “They assure me that they’re safe and for me not to worry. But you can’t help but worry, especially when you’re so far away and just can’t do anything to help.”

Young’s parents live in a neighborhood that was under a mandatory evacuation order.

“They got what they could and got out right away,” he said. “They’ll go back to the house afterward and see what happened.”

Manager John Farrell said his job in these situations is to support Young as best he can.

“That’s where you have to have some compassion for what really matters, his family and his life,” Farrell said. “You keep an open line of communication to what specific needs he might have.”

Brock Holt played at Rice University in Houston. He has been checking on friends in that area. The same has been true for Texas native Brandon Workman.

Help on the way Injured starters Jackie Bradley Jr. and Dustin Pedroia accompanied the team and could be activated from the disabled list before the road trip ends. That seems certain for Bradley, who is out with a sprained left thumb.

The center fielder hit in the batting cage on Monday and is set to take batting practice on the field on Tuesday. He is eligible to return in New York on Saturday.

“He’s making really good strides,” Farrell said.

Pedroia, who has been out since Aug. 9 because of inflammation in his left knee, ran some sprints around the edge of the infield and took batting practice on the field.

The plan is for him to run the bases at full speed to close to it on Wednesday. Farrell said Wednesday would determine whether Pedroia is activated this weekend in New York.

The Sox are being cautious with Pedroia, who came off the disabled list on Aug. 8 and played only one game before having to return.

Lefthander David Price also joined the team on the trip and continued his long-toss program. If Price is close to throwing off the mound, that is being kept quiet.

Depth on the way

The Sox can expand their roster on Friday and several players will join the team from Triple A Pawtucket. Blake Swihart is set to serve as the third catcher. Relievers Ben Taylor and Austin Maddox are likely to return as well. Infielder Deven Marrero and righthander Hector Velazquez are not eligible to return to Sept. 3. They were optioned to Pawtucket in Aug 24 and can not return for 10 days . . . Toronto finally named its starting pitchers for the final two games of the series. Lefthander Brett Anderson is set to make his first start for the Jays on Tuesday. He was signed on Aug. 18 after being released by the . Anderson has since started twice for Triple A Buffalo, allowing one earned run over 9⅔ innings. Anderson has not faced the Sox since 2013. J.A. Happ starts Wednesday . . . Toronto designated outfielder Nori Aoki for assignment and recalled righthanded reliever Leonel Campos.

* The Boston Herald

Red-hot Christian Vazquez homers, helps Red Sox end losing streak

Jason Mastrodonato

TORONTO — All they needed was a little push.

After a four-game stretch in which the Red Sox looked lifeless and complacent while their lead in the American League East slipped to less than three games for the first time since Aug. 3, a little bit of a panic set in, perhaps.

Manager John Farrell finally dropped Hanley Ramirez in the batting order, then the Sox played their best game in a week, orchestrating a 6-5 win against the Toronto Blue Jays for their 32nd come-from-behind victory of the season.

“We needed that win to break the losing streak,” said Christian Vazquez, who was 4-for-4 with a two-run homer in the seventh inning that gave the Sox their first lead since Wednesday. “We’re back.”

The Sox snapped a four-game losing streak. Combined with the ’ 6-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians, the Sox’ lead in the East is back to 31⁄2 games.

As in many cases this season, the Sox seemed to play their best when they had a reason. They trailed 3-2 to the worst team in the division with only nine outs remaining, coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of the .

Ramirez, who entered the game 1-for-15 in his previous four outings, finally took a nice-and-easy swing to rope a liner up the middle to start the seventh inning. Even with speedster in the dugout, Farrell chose to leave Ramirez (who has made nine outs on the bases this year) on first base as the tying run.

But Vazquez made sure it didn’t matter how fast (or well) Ramirez was running. Down in the count 0-2 to Danny Barnes, the red-hot catcher turned on a high-and-tight heater at 90 mph and lifted it into the second deck for a go-ahead, two-run blast.

“Always with two strikes, they pitch me up-and-in,” he said. “I was looking for that.”

Vazquez later added a double to left-center to complete a perfect night at hte plate and push his batting average to .294, second to only the Giants’ Buster Posey among major league catchers with at least 200 plate appearances.

“It’s simple,” he said. “Be simple at the plate. Don’t try to do too much and give my best. Hit it to (center) and right field. That’s my game.”

The catcher known for a big arm has turned into a clutch bat the Sox desperately need. Though Vazquez has only six career homers, five of them have come with men on base. And all six have been when the Red Sox were within two runs of their opponent.

The homer opened the floodgates for a big seventh inning, when the Sox loaded the bases and added two more runs on an infield single by Mitch Moreland and an RBI walk by Xander Bogaerts.

Not only will Farrell score points with some fans for finally dropping the slumping Ramirez in the batting order, but he surely made the mathematically savvy crowd happy with his bullpen usage.

Rather than use his best set-up man, Addison Reed, in the eighth inning, Farrell went to the right-hander in the seventh against the middle of the Jays lineup. Reed worked through the inning without issue, then Farrell used Brandon Workman to handle the eighth.

Craig Kimbrel gave the Red Sox a scare with some wildness in the ninth. He threw a hanging breaking ball that turned into a two-out, two-run blast to Justin Smoak before he closed out the game. He threw just nine of his 20 pitches for strikes.

Drew Pomeranz walked a tightrope for six innings, tying a season high while handing out five free passes. But he managed to escape disaster multiple times on his way to his 14th win of the season, thanks in large part to Vazquez.

“He has come up big,” Farrell said of his catcher. “You look at the walkoff home run, 0-2 home run, you’re never expecting that. You’re looking for just some square contact. Offensively he’s swinging the bat really well. He drives the ball into left-center field against another power right-hander. (It was a) big night offensively for Christian.”

Chris Young’s thoughts with family in Houston area

Chad Jennings

TORONTO — The latest issue of USA Today sat folded on a table in the middle of the Red Sox clubhouse yesterday. The front-page headline read, “Catastrophe,” in all capital letters, directly beneath an unrecognizable picture of Chris Young’s hometown.

“I wish I could be there with my family right now just to help them out,” Young said. “A lot of my family has been evacuated from their homes, electricity out. They’re finding safe places to go to to try to wait this out and see what happens, but it’s just tough out there right now. All I can do is see the video and the pictures and all that. You just hope everybody’s alright.”

Young grew up in the southwest corner of the greater Houston area, in a town called Bellaire, and all of his immediate family remains in the Texas city that’s currently underwater from Hurricane Harvey.

His parents evacuated, Young said, and haven’t seen their house since the storm hit. His sister is still without electricity.

“Everybody in my family, that I know of, is safe and sound right now,” Young said. “Personal belongings and stuff, that stuff is just stuff. It’s not important. As long as they’re safe and healthy and out of danger.”

Images of Houston’s flooded highways and neighborhoods have become staples of the national news in recent days, and Young said he’s followed along with regular conversations — hourly, he said — with loved ones who are dealing with the devastation in real time.

Young’s parents no longer live in his childhood home, but he said their house is where he stays when he’s in Houston during the offseason, and he thinks of that as home. He’s still not sure how much damage it suffered.

“We had advisories that the neighborhood that my parents live in right now was under a mandatory evacuation,” he said. “They got what they could and got out right away, just because I know it (was) going to be a lot of flooding in the area. They’ll just go back to the house afterwards and see what happens.”

Young said his family members would be welcome to stay with him, but both local airports have been shut down.

“I think it’s just a situation, too, where, if everybody finds a safe place to go, everybody just kind of stays there right now,” Young said.

And the fact they’re staying put, safe as could be under the circumstances, leaves Young free to focus on his task at hand.

“They’re keeping me in the loop, and they’re assuring me that they’re safe and for me not to worry,” he said. “But you can’t help but worry, especially when you’re so far away. You just can’t do anything to help. It sucks, but at the same time, you can’t do much about it.”

All things considered, Young said he’s thankful his family’s updates haven’t been worse.

“I’m sure there a lot of families out there that are in way rougher situations than my family is in,” he said. “So, you just continue to pray for everybody and hope that everybody can get to somewhere safe.”

Jennings: Rafael Devers’ last-second decision keys important win over Toronto

Chad Jennings

TORONTO — To appreciate how well the Red Sox played last night, you must first remember how poorly they played the four previous games.

There was the one when their ace couldn’t pitch beyond the third inning, there was the night they committed five errors, there was the game when they were shut out at home, and there was the outing they had one hit in 13 chances with runners in scoring position.

In every facet of the sport, at one point or another, the Red Sox had been a total wreck. The only thing keeping them in first place was how well they’d played the previous three and a half weeks, and the only thing they could say about the brief but dramatic free fall was that it eventually would end.

This team was good at turning the page, manager John Farrell kept saying.

But this particularly ugly chapter just kept going, one deflating twist after another, until the page finally did flip in the bottom of fifth inning last night.

Bases loaded. Down by 1. Sharp ground ball to third base. Rafael Devers said he wanted to turn two, decided he only had time for one, and at the last second — with his body still turned toward first base — he elected to throw home.

Couldn’t have been more on the money.

“When I saw where the runner was, I just wanted to make sure I got it as quickly as possible to home,” Devers said. “That seemed like the right play.”

Right play at the right moment, exactly what the Red Sox needed to get out of a jam and snap out of a funk, one that seemed to carry more weight than a typical four-game losing streak.

“I think more than anything, our guys and the resiliency,” Farrell said. “You know, we talk about their ability to move past some challenging times, and that might have been the toughest four-game stretch that we’ve had this season. We came out and we put together a good effort (last night).”

Drew Pomeranz had little feel for his curveball, but he kept the ship steady through six innings. Christian Vazquez is supposed to be a glove-first catcher, but he hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh. A station-to- station lineup manufactured an insurance run by stringing together baserunners, then getting an RBI single when it mattered. And the reloaded bullpen locked down the last three innings, giving Craig Kimbrel just enough wiggle room to withstand a ninth-inning home run.

It was not the Red Sox’ most memorable win of the year — it wasn’t their finest offensive showing, or their best pitching performance, and Devers’ heads-up throw to the plate wasn’t even the most jaw-dropping play of the night considering Kevin Pillar’s latest Superman impression — but in the context of recent history, last night was pretty close to perfection.

It was a game that easily could have slipped away and extended the losing streak to five games. There were plenty of chances to blow it — the Red Sox walked seven, committed an error, and nearly lost it at the end — but they didn’t.

They weren’t flawless, but they did the right things. They looked like a first-place team again, and they were rewarded by extending their division lead back to 31⁄2 games, exactly where it was at the All-Star break.

And it started with the kid at third base.

Talk about turning the page. He had to flip through two or three pages before settling on the correct answer, but when he found it, he executed.

“Last-second instincts kicked in,” Farrell said. “Knowing that he can’t turn a double play, and then I’ve got to believe, out of the corner of his eye he probably sees where (Josh) Donaldson is in relation to home plate, and he threw a strike from about 115 feet. So, like I said, a key play at that time in the game.”

It wasn’t Donaldson. It was Pillar speeding to first that triggered Devers’ final decision.

“My mentality initially was to go to first,” Devers said. “But when I saw he was already halfway down the line, I went home with it.”

Vazquez was so certain Devers would throw to first, he’d lost track of home plate, but got his foot there in time to record the out. Two innings later, he hit the home run that put the Red Sox in front.

“You could sense maybe that little bubble burst in the dugout,” Farrell said.

That bubble bursting was a page turning, and suddenly the Red Sox weren’t lost after all.

Red Sox notebook: Hanley Ramirez dropped out of cleanup spot to 7th in batting order

Jason Mastrodonato

TORONTO — Fresh off an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox had a new cleanup hitter for the start of their three-game series against the Blue Jays.

Hanley Ramirez, stuck in a 1-for-15 slump with eight in his last four games, was dropped to seventh in the batting order last night at the Rogers Centre.

It’s the lowest batting order position for Ramirez this season. The designated hitter responded with two hits and a pair of runs in the Red Sox’ 6-5 victory over the Blue Jays that snapped a four-game losing streak.

“To take a different look,” Sox manager John Farrell said. “We’ve had a lot of opportunities that have come up (and went unconverted). I think Hanley would be one of the first ones to acknowledge that this month in particular has been a little bit of a tough stretch for him, so a little bit of a shuffle to the lineup.”

Farrell said he talked about the change with Ramirez, who is hitting .191 with runners in scoring position, putting him among the 20 worst clutch hitters this season.

The Red Sox have said Ramirez is a better hitter when he’s trying to spray line drives all over the field. But the frequency in which his helmet falls to the ground is an indication that he’s swinging for more than line drives.

“Has there been maybe a little more tendency to try to pull the ball? That’s possible,” Farrell said. “It could also be a result of him being pounded in and then he’ll chase breaking balls away. He continually works and when you watch BP — BP and then carrying it into the game is really the bridge to success. You look at the BP, it’s quality, it’s consistent and yet at times those opportunities have resulted in a mishit ground ball and maybe a he hasn’t caught up to. We’re working to get better.”

Last night, Ramirez hit a fly ball double to left that should have been caught but Toronto outfielder Steve Pearce lost it in the lights. He also singled up the middle.

Pedroia amps up

The Red Sox plan to give Dustin Pedroia a challenging test tomorrow, increasing the intensity in which he runs the bases as he works back from a sore left knee.

Whether the second baseman might be available to be activated this weekend when rosters expand is still unsettled.

“We’ll probably have a better read on that after Wednesday’s work here,” said Farrell.

It still seems as though centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (thumb sprain) should be ready to go when he’s eligible to be activated on Saturday.

Rosters expand Friday and the Red Sox will likely call up a group of players from Triple-A Pawtucket, then a second wave later in the month.

Catcher Blake Swihart is one player the Sox plan to add, Farrell said. Swihart hit .183 with a .568 OPS in the minors this year.

Still in center field

The original plan with Andrew Benintendi was to keep him in center field until Bradley returned. The idea, though, Farrell said, was to keep Benintendi more comfortable in left, where he’s played since being called up to the majors last season. He was again in center in Toronto last night. Brock Holt was in left.

Benintendi will play center field “just in the bigger ballpark,” the manager said. “The wall in left (at Fenway Park) is the primary reason he stays in left there on days that Rajai Davis is on the field. And I will say, tomorrow and the next day with a couple left-handers, Rajai is probably going to be in left field here because that’s his area of most comfort. Feel like Benny’s range in center field plays well there in addition to that.

“As much as you try to refrain from bouncing guys back and forth, this is a unique set-up with the wall in Fenway.” . . .

Doug Fister received a “notable performance” commendation from MLB during its announcement of the American League player of the week for posting a 1.69 ERA over 16 innings in two starts.

* The Providence Journal

Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 5: Christian Vazquez provides late spark to stop skid

Tim Britton

TORONTO — Christian Vazquez knew it off the bat, because Vazquez always knows off the bat.

With his seventh-inning two-run homer on Monday night, Vazquez flipped his bat and flipped the script, propelling the Red Sox to a much-needed come-from-behind 6-5 win over the Blue Jays. Boston snapped its four-game losing streak and, in concert with New York’s loss to Cleveland, pushed its advantage in the American League East back out to 3.5 games.

Vazquez does not hit many home runs. Monday’s — on an 0-2 count off Danny Barnes to turn a 3-2 deficit into a4-3 advantage — was his fourth of the season and the sixth of his career. But they all seem to be memorable ones, and they all seem to be long enough to left field to allow the catcher a few extra moments to appreciate his handiwork.

“Always with two strikes, they pitch me up and in, so I was looking for that,” Vazquez said. “I hit it well.”

Five of those six homers, though, have given the Red Sox the lead; three of them have given the Sox the lead in the seventh or later. Vazquez doesn’t always hit home runs, but when he does, he prefers to make them count.

The homer was just one of four hits on the night for Vazquez, who bumped his August average to an even .400 with the performance. His OPS this month is 1.104. Not bad for a defense-first backstop.

Hanley Ramirez, moved down to the seventh spot in the order for the first time this season, helped spark that seventh inning with a leadoff single. Ramirez also doubled and scored in the second, though Steve Pearce’s misplay in left field had a lot to do with that.

The Red Sox added two more runs in the seventh by exploiting the kind of sloppiness that becomes ingrained in a last-place team by late August. Eduardo Nuñez walked, Andrew Benintendi doubled off the lefty specialist brought in to face him, and Mitch Moreland drove home a run with an infield single. Another walk, this one with the bases loaded, helped provide the final margin.

“You could sense the little bubble burst in the dugout,” manager John Farrell said of that seventh inning, coming at the end of two days spent largely on the cusp of such an offensive breakthrough.

Oftentimes, it takes unexpected contributions like a glimpse of power from Vazquez to break out of the kind of funk in which Boston found itself these past four days. Its starters had been hit hard early, its offense had been dormant late in four listless losses to Cleveland and Baltimore.

Monday looked much the same for six innings, though the Sox laid the groundwork for their later comeback by keeping the game in check. Drew Pomeranz was far from his sharpest, his six innings involving a lot of time in the stretch.

Pomeranz put on 13 baserunners, if you count his own error. Five of those men reached via the walk, yet Pomeranz maintained his ability to work around his own dalliances with wildness. He stranded four of those five walks, the only exception coming home on consecutive two-out doubles in the first from Jose Bautista and Kendrys Morales.

He was aided by his defense, most notably in the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, Kevin Pillar hit an in-between ground ball to third that looked ready to eat up Rafael Devers. Devers backed up on a ball that seemed to require charging, only to compensate for it by firing a strike home to cut down the lead runner. Not bad for a bat-first rookie.

Pomeranz backed that play up with a slick one of his own, snagging Darwin Barney’s line drive through the box to end the inning with the Sox within one.

Pomeranz improved to 14-4 with the win. He hasn’t lost a decision since June 11, and Boston is 10-2 in his last dozen starts.

“A good win here, a much-needed one here,” Farrell said. “To get back in the win column is big.”

Catching duo has remained remarkably healthy for Sox

Tim Britton

TORONTO — Sometime in the next week, the Red Sox will promote Blake Swihart from Triple-A Pawtucket, and it will end a remarkable run by their two primary catchers.

The Sox haven’t needed a third catcher through the first five months of the season. For a position characterized by the wear and tear it imposes on its practitioners, that’s a point of pride for Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez.

“I feel great,” said Leon, who wore down a bit in the second half of 2016. “Catching sometimes, you need to rest a bit. We’ve both been playing a lot of games. That’s good for Christian and me.”

This season, major-league teams have used an average of 3.4 catchers. Boston’s opponents this week in Toronto have tried six different guys behind the dish. Only two other teams have gotten through the season without requiring a third backstop: the Dodgers and Indians. Perhaps it’s no coincidence these three teams lead their respective divisions.

The Red Sox had used five catchers by this point last season. They haven’t made it through the first 130 games with just two backstops since 2008.

That the Sox have never had to turn to a third catcher has been fortuitous — because they don’t really have one. Swihart has missed long periods of the season with injury; there’s no other catcher on the 40-man roster.

Ever since John Farrell took over as manager in 2013, he’s repeatedly stated that the Sox view catcher as a two-man position. The plan has always been to complement the starter at the position with a heavy dose of the backup, be it David Ross or Ryan Hanigan in years past.

Injuries have tended to get in the way of that plan, as they do at the position. This year, though, has been pretty close to the ideal scenario. Monday marked Vazquez’s 67th start at catcher; Leon has started 64. Outside of one stretch where Vazquez started seven straight games — Leon was dealing with a banged-up knee — neither has started more than three games in a row.

“That’s a demanding position, and they’ve been able to stay fresh throughout the course of the year,” manager John Farrell said last week. “We’re confident in both guys equally.”

And both know exactly when they’re going to play. Leon has caught most every start by Chris Sale and Rick Porcello. Vazquez has been behind the dish for Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez. They’ve developed routines around that schedule.

“When you know you’re going to catch that guy, that means you get ready for that day. You have your own plan, how you’re going to go through the game with the hitters,” Leon said. “You can focus and prepare for that. You can work out the days you know you’re not going to play. It’s been working really well for us.”

Red Sox OK with Benintendi in center field -- on the road

Tim Britton

TORONTO — The Red Sox still want to keep Andrew Benintendi in left field — at home, that is.

With Jackie Bradley Jr. out, Benintendi was back in center field on Monday night in Toronto. Manager John Farrell, who earlier had said the team didn’t want to move Benintendi back and forth between center and left, explained that playing Benintendi in left is more significant at Fenway Park, for obvious reasons.

That means that even when Rajai Davis starts this week — and Farrell expects him in the lineup against southpaws Brett Anderson and J.A. Happ the next two days — Benintendi will be in center with Davis in left. The team had the inverse for the two games Davis started over the weekend at Fenway.

“The wall in left there is the primary reason [Benintendi] stays in left on days that Rajai is on the field,” Farrell said. “As much as you try to refrain from bouncing guys back and forth, this is a unique setup with the wall in Fenway.”

Benintendi has been credited with five in left for the Red Sox this season, according to Baseball Info Solutions.

***

Bradley, Jr. has made enough progress over the weekend that the center fielder could be activated off the disabled list on Saturday — his first day eligible to return.

Bradley has been out since August 23 with a left thumb sprain suffered on a slide into home in Cleveland.

Bradley hit in the batting cage on Monday and expects to hit on the field Tuesday.

“He’s making really good strides the last three or four days,” Farrell said.

***

Dustin Pedroia did some running on Monday, with the expectation that he’ll do so again Tuesday and then challenge himself with more intense baserunning on Wednesday. Farrell said the team would have a better idea on a timetable for Pedroia, who’s played just one game this month, after Wednesday.

Hanley Ramirez feeling the squeeze in Red Sox lineup

Tim Britton

TORONTO — In the first tangible sign that his everyday playing time may be in jeopardy, Hanley Ramirez was moved down in the order on Monday, from fourth to seventh for the series opener against the Blue Jays.

″[It’s] to take a different look,” manager John Farrell said, a day after the Sox couldn’t come back from a 2- 0 first-inning deficit and after a weekend sweep to the Orioles that saw them outscored 25 to 4. “Probably Hanley would be one of the first ones to acknowledge that this month in particular has been a little bit of a tough stretch for him.”

Ramirez has had a rough August, entering Monday with a .200 average and .666 OPS this month, including a 1-for-15 stretch over his last five games.

But this isn’t just about August with Ramirez. While pretty much every Red Sox regular has taken a step back from his offensive performance of 2016, Ramirez is perhaps the largest disappointment offensively. And unlike players such as Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Andrew Benintendi, Ramirez hasn’t had a stretch in which he carried the team offensively. His best average for a month is .271, his best OPS .818.

Ramirez hit .286 with an .866 OPS for all of 2016.

Even more concerning for the Red Sox is that Ramirez’s struggles manifest at the worst times. Let’s take a look at Sunday, when Ramirez reached base three times — but had his worst at-bat in maybe the most significant moment.

After the Sox had allowed two in the top of the first, they had two in scoring position with one out for Ramirez in the bottom of the inning — an excellent chance to get right back into the game. He struck out, though, against Wade Miley, and Boston didn’t get anything in the frame, eventually losing 2-1.

Last season, Ramirez was at his best in the biggest moments. He carried the offense in September, sparking the 11-game winning streak that more or less clinched the American League East with a walk-off three-run homer against the Yankees — arguably the biggest hit of Boston’s season.

All year long, he was among the game’s best performers with runners in scoring position, batting .297 with a .955 OPS in those spots. He was 21 percent better with runners in scoring position than without, and he was 52 percent better than the league average in that split. He drove in 111 runs for the season.

This hasn’t been a good year for Ramirez all around, but it’s been exacerbated by how bad he’s been with runners in scoring position. In those spots, he’s hitting .191 with a .629 OPS — 31 percent worse than he is without men in scoring position and 35 percent worse than the league average.

That explains how someone who drove in 50 runs in the final two months of last season is sitting on 49 RBIs in the final week of August despite hitting in the middle of the order for a team ranked sixth in the league in runs per game.

Has Ramirez’s approach changed in those spots?

“We know that Hanley is best when he’s using the whole field,” Farrell said, echoing what he’s said throughout the slugger’s tenure with the Sox. “Has there been maybe a little more tendency to try to pull the ball? That’s possible.

“You look at the BP, it’s quality and it’s consistent.... Carrying it into the game is really the bridge to success.”

The time for Ramirez to make that translation is running short. Dustin Pedroia could be back as soon as this weekend against the Yankees. When he’s back in the fold, it’s likely he’ll need occasional starts at DH. The way Eduardo Nuñez has swung the bat since coming over from the Giants makes it hard to remove him from the regular lineup. Mitch Moreland’s gotten hot the last week, as well, adding to the squeeze on Ramirez.

The dilemma for Farrell is this: The best possible Red Sox offense involves Ramirez finding his swing and providing the kind of frightening middle-of-the-order pop no one else on this team can; his 19 home runs still lead the team. However, a tight race in the division doesn’t permit Boston the luxury of letting Ramirez work through his issues, with no guarantee of ultimate success.

(Let’s not forget that there’s a financial component to Ramirez’s playing time. His $22 million option for 2019 vests automatically if he receives 1,050 plate appearances between this season and next and passes a physical at the end of next season. It’s easier to take a backseat for the good of the team when your future paycheck isn’t diminished by doing so.)

“When he’s hitting to [his] long track record, we’re a very different offensive team,” Farrell said. “He’s a big part of our lineup, and we fully expect [him] to be that part. But at the same time, you just don’t hold out hope that when the calendar turns, all of a sudden things change.”

* The Springfield Republican

Carson Smith, Boston Red Sox reliever, records fifth straight scoreless rehab outing for Pawtucket

Christopher Smith

Red Sox reliever Carson Smith continued his impressive rehab assignment Monday.

Smith -- who underwent Tommy John surgery May 24, 2016 -- hurled another scoreless inning for Triple- A Pawtucket. He pitched on just one-day rest for the second time during his rehab stint.

This marked his fifth straight scoreless rehab outing. Seven of his eight outings at Pawtucket have been scoreless.

Smith likely will be added to Boston's roster in early September. He allowed one hit. He induced two groundouts (one to third base, one to shortstop). He recorded the other out on a liner to third base.

He threw 15 pitches, seven for strikes.

The righty has a 2.00 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 82 career major league outings (81 innings). He has averaged 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings compared to 2.9 walks.

Ben Taylor and Austin Maddox also each pitched a scoreless and hitless innings for Pawtucket. And each struck out one batter.

Both Taylor and Maddox also likely will be September call-ups. They have a good chance of being promoted on the first day of the month.

Christian Vazquez (4-for-4) launches HR, Boston Red Sox beat Blue Jays; Rafael Devers makes terrific play

Christopher Smith

Christian Vazquez doesn't hit many home runs, but they typically travel a long distance and come at important times.

Vazquez crushed an 89.5 mph four-seamer on an 0-2 pitch from Blue Jays reliever Danny Barnes for a two- run homer in the seventh inning. He turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 Red Sox lead.

Vazquez's homer sparked a four-run seventh inning. He went 4-for-4 with one homer, one double and two singles to help the Red Sox win 6-5 over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

The Red Sox ended a four-game losing streak and picked up one game on the second-place Yankees in the AL East standings. New York lost 6-2 to the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium.

Boston holds a 3 1/2 games lead over the Yankees.

Vazquez is 25-for-57 (.439 batting average) with eight extra-base hits, nine RBIs and 13 runs since July 29.

Justin Smoak bashed a two-run homer off Craig Kimbrel in the bottom of the ninth but he got Kendrys Morales to pop out to shortstop to end the game.

Pomeranz improves to 14-4

Drew Pomeranz experienced control issues, walking five. But he battled to escape some big jams. He ended up pitching 6 innings and earning the win. He allowed three runs, seven hits and five walks while striking out four.

The lefty improved to 14-4 with a 3.23 ERA.

Rafael Devers' 5-2 force out

Pomeranz escaped a fifth inning bases-loaded jam in part because of a nice play by Rafael Devers.

With the bases loaded and one out, Devers fielded a grounder deep at third and fired home for a 5-2 force out.

Jackie Bradley Jr. could return to Boston Red Sox lineup vs. Yankees on Saturday; how about Dustin Pedroia?

Christopher Smith

Manager John Farrell told the media today at Rogers Centre that Jackie Bradley Jr. could return from the 10-day disabled list when he's eligible to be activated Saturday.

The Red Sox play at Yankee Stadium this weekend.

Boston placed Bradley on the DL with a sprained left thumb Wednesday.

He's scheduled to take batting practice today.

Pedroia went on the disabled list with left knee inflammation Aug. 12 (retroactive to Aug. 9). He spent from July 29 through Aug. 8 on the DL with left knee inflammation. He was activated Aug. 8, played one game and then returned to the DL.

Hanley Ramirez moved to seventh in Boston Red Sox lineup; Mitch Moreland batting cleanup, Xander Bogaerts fifth

Christopher Smith

Red Sox's Hanley Ramirez batted cleanup in his previous 27 starts, but manager John Farrell has moved him to seventh in the order for today's series opener against Toronto.

Boston has lost four straight games. It begins a three-game set at Rogers Centre at 7:07 p.m.

In 36 games during the second half, Ramirez has gone 29-for-138 (.210) with a .301 on-base percentage, .384 , six doubles, six homers and 15 RBIs.

He's slashing .191/.316/.313/.629 in 115 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Mitch Moreland is batting cleanup and Xander Bogaerts has moved up to fifth in the order.

Brock Holt is the left field.

Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays: NESN TV schedule, live stream, 5 things to watch (Aug. 28-30) Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays: NESN TV schedule, live stream, 5 things to watch (Aug. 28-30) Red Sox ace Chris Sale hasn't allowed a run in two starts (15 innings) vs. Toronto this year. He has held the Jays to eight hits and two walks while striking out 24.

RED SOX LINEUP:

1. Eduardo Nunez 2B 2. Andrew Benintendi CF 3. Mookie Betts RF 4. Mitch Moreland 1B 5. Xander Bogaerts SS 6. Rafael Devers 3B 7. Hanley Ramirez DH 8. Christian Vazquez C 9. Brock Holt LF

Pitching matchup: LHP Drew Pomeranz (13-4, 3.18) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (11-6, 3.17)

Scouting Rafael Devers: How the Boston Red Sox found a 14-year-old future phenom in the Dominican Republic

Jen McCaffrey

The first time Eddie Romero saw Rafael Devers was on a backfield during a workout in the Dominican Republic six years ago.

Romero, now an assistant general manager for the Red Sox, was Boston's director of international scouting at the time. One of his Dominican area scouts, Manny Nanita, was adamant Romero see this 14-year-old kid he'd been tracking.

"A lot of times you hear hyped guys and all this, but when we went to see (Devers) it was legit," Romero said. "He performed very well and he played third base very well and had a really good arm given his age. Then when we saw he was doing this against players that were three, four years older than he was that made it all the more impressive."

With Devers now excelling on the biggest stage, just 28 games into his major-league career, Romero and the Red Sox are grateful Nanita had the keen eye to spot a developing Devers more than half a decade ago.

Finding young talent in the Dominican is somewhat of a scavenger hunt. Absent of flashy tournament style showcases for adolescent players like in the United States, most Dominican prospects are found at loosely organized workouts and practices held at agents' fields.

That was the case for Devers.

This particular practice was held on a field near a horse track in Santo Domingo. Nanita had arrived that day with the intent of watching a few other players in the group of 25 or so, but Devers immediately stood out.

"What I first noticed was that Devers looked different than the rest of the players during batting practice," Nanita wrote in an email to MassLive.com. "He was squaring the ball up most of the time and driving it where it was pitched, but what really caught my attention was seeing him face pitchers, he was so focused and confident in his ability to hit that it looked like a battle between him and the pitcher."

Nanita introduced himself to a 14-year-old Devers and his father after that practice and immediately contacted Romero.

Over the next 14 to 16 months the Red Sox watched Devers develop in games and practices with experienced talent evaluators in the organization all signing off on Devers' potential. By the time Romero had a chance to watch Devers play, the club was already determined to sign him.

The and Toronto Blue Jays had shown interest, but Devers stayed loyal to Nanita, who had scouted in him from the beginning.

"Each game I saw him play he took each at bat seriously, waiting for his pitch to hit and being aggressive and consistent with it," Nanita said. "I felt like we had a very good chance to sign him due to that we started the process very early on him, found him at a very young age and this allowed us to get to know him and follow him all the way, meeting his father and starting a friendly relationship."

There wasn't much of a debate whether they'd be able to sign him. The 16-year-old signed a $1.5 million singing bonus in August of 2013.

"It's the most grassroots evaluating you can do. We don't have medical histories, we don't have performance histories," Romero said.

"We rely on those scouts heavily to put us on to guys, to identify guys, to follow them, to develop relationships, to get to know the families and Manny did an incredible job in both of these situations. Withouth Manny, we don't have Craig Kimbrel. Without Manny we don't have Devers right now."

Immediately after signing, Devers went straight to the Red Sox Dominican Academy in El Toro, about 35 minutes east of Santo Domingo.

Until that point, Devers had been excelling on raw talent. He could hit just about anything he wanted. Now that baseball had become his job, things were about to be a little different.

"Really it's like pro baseball 101," Romero said of the academy. "They're learning how to lift weights every day, how to practice every day, how to play three or four games a week because we have them play in a little league and before their first official league so it's sometimes tough. It's intimidating. They get worn out easily because it's their first time, all while learning English every day.

"They're away from home for the first time so it's kind of like going away to college, you're on your own," Romero added. "That's the kind of atmosphere but it's heavy, heavy, heavy dose of baseball and kind of step one in getting them prepared for their future in the States with us."

Jose Zapata managed the Dominican Summer League at the Red Sox academy and became Devers' first manager in professional ball. His job was to introduce Devers and the other prospects to the Red Sox way of playing baseball and the discipline of playing the game at the highest level.

"First thing I saw about him was his talent," Zapata wrote in an email. "Especially his swing when he was taking batting practice in that first week of work. It was pretty easy coaching him, because since his first week with us you could tell he had excellent makeup and came from a great family. He showed great effort to work every day, especially his defense which he knew he had to work on.

"We worked with some different drills to get better with his defense, doing a lot of drills to get his feet moving. With more strength his arm got stronger as well."

Devers spent that first year with the Dominican Academy before moving to Single-A Greenville in 2015, where he hit .288 with a .773 OPS. Despite being one of the youngest players in the minors, Devers still excelled. So when he hit a wall with High-A Salem at the start of 2016, the Red Sox weren't too concerned.

Over the first two months, the star prospect hit .233 with a .633 OPS and four homers.

"I think we thought of it as this is the first time in his career, maybe ever since he started playing baseball that he really struggled," Romero said. "And the assimilation into the culture still relatively new to him, hitting in the cold weather for the first time and that's a league where historically it's a tough league to hit in the Carolina league.

"Every hitting coordinator that went in there said he's just trying to do too much," Romero said. "He's pressing a little bit, mechanically he's getting better and he hasn't panicked. He's gotten frustrated at times but he hasn't panicked. So we were so convicted on him as a player that we knew this was a bump in the road so once he got hot that also didn't' surprise us. I don't mean to sound arrogant like that in any way. We just had a lot of faith in the bat and once he started heating up it was kind of what we knew he could do."

By the summer of 2016, Devers had figured it out at the plate and finished the year hitting .288 with a .779 OPS and 11 homers in 128 games.

When spring training rolled around in 2017, Devers was invited to big league camp, an indication he was on the cusp of a call up.

In 77 games with Portland to start the year, Devers hit .300 with a .944 OPS, 19 doubles and 18 homers. He represented the Red Sox at the MLB All-Star Futures game and then appeared in the Eastern League All- Star game the same week.

Unlike other Boston top prospects Andrew Benintendi and Yoan Moncada before him, Devers had a brief stint in Triple-A Pawtucket just after the All-Star break as a buffer before reaching the majors.

He didn't seem to need it though.

Boston promoted the 20-year-old on July 23, a week before the trade deadline and he's hardly faltered since. In 28 games, Devers is hitting .296 with a .930 OPS, six doubles and eight homers.

Despite the success, Devers has been unfazed by it all.

"It's almost eery how much of the same kid (he is)," Romero said. "I chat with him now and he's asking me about the coaching staff in the Dominican and that's how he's always been. He's a very genuine kid and very up front and smart in that he keeps things simple."

It all started with Nanita's discerning interest in a young hitter on a field in the Dominican.

* Bostonsportsjournal.com

Pomeranz, Vazquez and Devers combine to put brakes on losing streak

Sean McAdam

TORONTO – Losing streaks don’t end themselves. Nor are they often snapped by the actions of a single player.

To slam the brakes on their four-game losing streak and come out with a 6-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, it took a village for the Red Sox.

Or, you know, at least three different players.

There was Drew Pomeranz, who seemed to be pitching out of the stretch from the first inning. Pomeranz had difficulty throwing his curveball for strikes and issued five walks to go with seven hits allowed.

But when he had to, he bailed himself out of jams of his own making. In his six innings, he stranded eight, including five in scoring position.

“It was pretty much a battle from the beginning,’’ said Pomeranz, who won his 14th to tie Chris Sale for the team lead. “I struggled with my command, with pretty much everything, for most of the game. But I was able to make a few pitches when I needed to the most.

“I couldn’t figure out how I got out of six innings with just three runs. I felt like there were people on every inning.’’

That wasn’t just Pomeranz’s imagination. The only 1-2-3 inning he enjoyed was the third.

“It was a battle,’’ said John Farrell of his starter, “but he did one heck of a job with men on base.’’

But his ability to wiggle out of trouble is a relatively newfound skill, helping him to have his best season in the big leagues. With each outing, he seems to develop more confidence in himself to find ways to escape damage.

“It’s just making those big pitches,’’ shrugged Pomeranz. “I’ve always kind of been like that, weirdly, since high school. I’d make the bases loaded and then get out of it. Maybe some part of it helps me lock in more and just really focus on making those pitches.’’

As well as Pomeranz pitched, the Sox trailed by a run until the seventh when, after a leadoff single by Hanley Ramirez, Christian Vazquez cranked a two-run shot into the second deck in left on an 0-and-2 pitch off Danny Barnes.

Since July 29, Vazquez has been a different hitter at the plate, batting .396 with eight multi-hit games including Monday’s four-hit effort. Twice, including Monday, he’s clobbered multi-run homers late in games to help the Sox win games.

“With two strikes, they always pitch me up and in,’’ said Vazquez who lifted his average to .294, “and I was looking for that. I hit it well. (I’ve tried to be) simple at the plate and not try to do too much, hit the ball up middle and right field. That’s my game.’’

“He’s swinging the bat really well,’’ gushed Farrell. “Big night at the plate for Christian.’’

Finally, there was the unusually poised rookie, Rafael Devers, making a key defensive play at third to cut down a crucial Toronto run in the fifth. Sometimes it’s difficult to determine which is most impressive — his raw power or natural instincts.

The Jays had the bases loaded when Kevin Pillar hit a chopper that Devers had to field in retreat, behind the third base bag. For an instant, Devers seemed to turn toward first. A double-play was unlikely because of Pillar’s speed and the fact that the ball wasn’t hit hard enough.

But at the last possible second, he thought better of it and decided to fire home. Somehow, he threaded a throw over and around the baserunner, . Vazquez grabbed the throw and stepped on the plate for the force out.

“In that situation, to go home was the only play I had,’’ said Devers. “My mentality was to go was (initially) to go to first. But when I saw that (Pillar) was already halfway down the line, I went home with it. That seemed like the right play for me.’’

“It was a key play at a pivotal time in the game,’’ Farrell said. “You see him keep the speed of the game under control. Tonight was a prime example of it. He’s kind of a natural.’’

And just like that, one of the three longest losing streaks of the Red Sox’ season was history.

Chris Young worries about family in hometown of Houston

Sean McAdam

TORONTO – Chris Young may be in Canada, but his heart, understandably, is in Houston.

The Red Sox outfielder/DH is a native of Houston, currently under siege with Hurricane Harvey ravaging the area, where many family members are battling the storm.

“It’s hard,’’ said Young before the Red Sox began their series with the Blue Jays here. “It’s part of our lifestyle (as pro athletes); we can’t be there. But I wish I could be there with my family right now to help them out. A lot of my family has been evacuated from their homes and the electricity is out. They’re finding safe places to go to, to try to wait this out and see what happens.

“It’s tough out there right now. All I can do is see the video and the pictures and all that. You just hope everybody is all right.’’

Young is in constant communication via phone – he was seen bringing his phone out on the field during some early work – and is getting updates throughout the day. His parents were forced from their home as part of a mandatory evacuation of their neighborhood, but have safely relocated.

“That’s all that’s really important – they’re safe,’’ said Young. “Everybody in my family, that I know of, is safe and sound right now. Personal belongings, that stuff is just stuff. It’s not important. As long as they’re safe and healthy and out of danger…’’

Young said he’s been able to find some refuge by simply doing his job.

“When you step on the field,’’ he said, “you’re able to get away for a second. I’m talking to my family every hour. They’re keeping me in the loop and they’re assuring me that they’re safe and not to worry. But you can’t help but worry, especially when you’re so far away. You just can’t do anything to help. It sucks, but at the same time, you don’t can do anything about it.’’

John Farrell is mindful of the stress Young feels and has empathy for his situation.

“You have to have some compassion for what really matters,’’ said Farrell, “and that’s family and life. You keep the whole city of Houston (in your thoughts) – my gosh, what they’re dealing with is unfathomable, to be honest with you. No doubt, some hardship is going to come out of that in general, but how it might affect an individual on your team, you’re always keeping an open line of communication; if there are specific needs that they have, you try to attend to them.’’

Final: Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 5

Sean McAdam

TORONTO – In desperate need of a win to halt their four-game slide, the Red Sox were in trouble with nine outs to go, trailing by a run.

But in the seventh, the team rallied for four runs off the Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen and posted a critical 6-5 victory over the Jays. Coupled with the Indians’ win in New York, the victory moved the Sox back to a 3.5 lead over the Yankees in the A.L. East. Christian Vazquez delivered the big blow with a two-run homer into the second deck in left. An infield single by Mitch Moreland and a bases-loaded walk to Xander Bogaerts accounted for two more runs.

Craig Kimbrel allowed a two-run homer to Justin Smoak in the ninth to make it tight, then walked Jose Bautista to put the potential tying run on base. But he got Kendrys Morales to pop to short for the final out.

Drew Pomeranz, who worked in and out of trouble much of the night with five walks and seven hits allowed, won for the fourth time in his last five decisions. Pomeranz hasn’t lost since June 11.

He fell behind 2-0 in the first on consecutive doubles to Bautista and Morales. After the Sox scratched out solo runs in the second (Hanley Ramirez scoring from third on a throwing error) and third (solo Eduardo Nunez homer) off Toronto starter Marcus Stroman, the Jays took the lead again in the fourth on three straight hits, topped by a run-scoring single from Ryan Goins.

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

Rafael Devers continues to show incredible poise and instincts. In the bottom of the fifth, with the bases loaded and the Sox trailing by a run, he fielded a grounder from Kevin Pillar. After first checking first, he regrouped and threw home to cut down Josh Donaldson with a perfect throw to the plate. The throw had to be threaded over Pillar’s head, but Devers got it there with some heat and cut down a run. Mookie Betts leads the major leagues in defensive runs saved with 27, and in case you wondered why, there was evidence in the bottom of the third here at Rogers Centre. Toronto DH Kendrys Morales drove a ball to the opposite field which Betts tracked to the scoreboard in right. Then, timing his leap perfectly, Betts went airborne to grab the ball and take extra bases away from Morales. It seems like Jackie Bradley Jr. turns in more acrobatic, highlight-type plays, but Betts is the more valued defender. He covers more ground, and because right field in Fenway is so large and asymmetrical, is presented with more challenges. Drew Pomeranz appears to go through stages with his control. For a stretch of outings in July, he walked five, two, five and four in four starts. Then, over the next four starts, he walked one, one, two and one. But the pattern has reversed itself again. Pomeranz walked five in his last outing in Cleveland last week and three in the first three innings here tonight. In addition to creating baserunners for himself — one of the walks issued in the first tonight scored — he also runs his pitch count up prematurely when he’s issuing walks. This game can be hard to predict. Xander Bogaerts came into tonight, the Red Sox shortstop has hit .306 over his previous 13 games. Not eye-opening, but definitely a better trend considering how much Bogaerts has struggled at times this season. Add to that that Bogaerts has had great success against Marcus Stroman (10-for-23, .435). So what happens in his first two at-bats tonight? Two strikeouts. Go figure. PRE-GAME NOTES:

Hanley Ramirez found himself hitting seventh in the Red Sox lineup Monday for the first this season — and only the 10th time in his career – as part of an effort by manager John Farrell to get Ramirez going, and frankly, to try someone else in the cleanup spot as Ramirez continues to scuffle this month. Ramirez is slashing just .200/.309/.357 this month with two homers and nine RBI in 19 games. “We’ve had a lot of (run-producing) opportunities that have come up,” said Farrell, “and I think Hanley would be one of the first ones to acknowledge that this month, in particular, has been a little bit of a tough stretch for him. So, a little bit of a shuffle to the lineup.” The Sox would like to see Ramirez use the entire field more in his at- bats, rather than focused on pulling the ball. Dustin Pedroia did some running on the infield surface at Rogers Centre, doing sprints and some change- of-direction drills He then hit during batting practice, then repeat the same steps Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Sox plan to have Pedroia run the bases. At that point, Farrell said, the Sox will have a better read on whether Pedroia could be activated for the series in New York this weekend. “With the increase in intensity and the pounding (the knee will take) running the bases will generate,” said Farrell, “that will be a more indicative read at that point.” Jackie Bradley Jr. hit in the cage pre-game and will take BP on the field Tuesday. It’s quite possible that Bradley could be activated Saturday in New York, when he’s first eligible. “He’s making very good strides,” said Farrell. Under the watchful eye of Farrell, David Price long-tossed on the outfield warning track, then threw some breaking balls from a shorter distance. Back on the road and facing a righthander, the Sox have Brock Holt in left with Andrew Benintendi in center. They like Beninetendi to handle center on the road, with Holt and Rajai Davis platooning in left. SERIES TO DATE: The Red Sox have had their way with the Blue Jays so far this season, winning seven of the first 10 meetings, including five of the first six games in Toronto. There are still nine games remaining between the two division rivals, with three games at Rogers Centre this week and, in a strange schedule quirk, two visits by the Blue Jays to Boston in September.

WHERE THINGS STAND: Boston has lost a season-high four straight games and has seen its lead in the East shrink to just 2.5 games. The Sox got things straightened out pitching-wise Sunday, allowing just two runs, but have struggled for the last three games with offense, unable to come up with a big hit when necessary. The Jays are lodged in the Division basement, though they remain nominally on the outside of the wild card chase. It’s been a disappointing season for a team which qualified for the post-season in each of the previous two years.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Pomeranz has been the Red Sox’ most consistent starter of late, with a 1.59 ERA over his last five starts and a scoreless streak of 11.1 innings. Justin Smoak is the one member of the Blue Jays lineup who’s had any success against Pomeranz, going 4-for-8 against the lefty. Stroman is the Jays’ best starter and will be a tough draw – except for Xander Bogaerts, who is a .435 (10-for-23) career hitter against him.

STAT OF NOTE: The Sox are in the throes of a four-game losing streak, but are one of just five MLB teams who haven’t dropped five straight this season. The Indians, Dodgers, Twins and Nationals are the others.

LINEUPS:

Red Sox

Nunez 2B Benintendi CF Betts RF Moreland 1B Bogaerts SS Devers 3B Ramirez DH Vazquez C Holt LF

Blue Jays

Pearce LF Donaldson 3B Smoak 1B Bautista RF Morales DH Pillar CF Barney 2B Goins SS Lopez C

* The Lawrence Eagle Tribune

How long for Hanley?

Chris Mason

1. When the Red Sox were red hot in August, Hanley Ramirez still wasn't hitting.

However, his teammates were scoring enough to mask the slugger's shortcomings, and singling a player out when his team goes on a 16-4 run is next-level nitpicking.

But last weekend the Sox bats finally cooled off, and there was no hiding a struggling Ramirez. August has been his worst month of the season.

Dustin Pedroia is getting closer to returning from his knee injury, and when he comes back from the disabled list, John Farrell is going to have a difficult decision to make. Where do all of the pieces fit?

Farrell said the team is considering shuffling players through Ramirez's designated hitter spot.

"That's a definite possibility," Farrell said. "That's also the time of the year, where you're trying to get a little bit of freshness. The obvious question when Pedey comes back to us, one, it's going to be how frequently can he play second base, and how do we rotate everybody through."

Ramirez hasn't been playing first base with much regularity - he had one start there last week - and it would be foolish to bench Eduardo Nunez. Something has to give.

2. This August is a far cry from what Ramirez was able to do down the stretch last season. He came into the Toronto series hitting .189 with an OPS of .640 since the trade deadline.

In 2016, Ramirez put the Red Sox on his back in the second half of the season. Last night, Ramirez was dropped to the No. 7 spot in the Sox lineup. He simply hasn't been the same at the plate.

Farrell offered an interesting theory on why his production has tailed off.

"What the root of it is, I'm not sure if he's trying to generate more bat speed because he's been dealing with the shoulders, to start the swing earlier, to commit earlier," Farrell said. "You see maybe a higher number of check swings that are called strikes, where he can't hold up. That's a hitter committing early, and going to get a pitch, and pitch recognition might be a little bit late."

3. Another wrinkle to Farrell's designated hitter decision: His right-handed batters' splits are bucking convention.

Neither Ramirez nor Chris Young is hitting left-handed pitching the way they have over the course of their careers. Both men have reverse splits this season.

Ramirez is hitting .213 against lefties, while Young is at .198. So how long does Farrell go by the book when he's making his lineups, and which splits does he value more, the conventional ones or 2017's?

"We’re in the final 30-plus games and we have a tough road to go ahead of us and you look at all means to put together a combination that’s going to be successful. We know Chris has had some different issues this year versus left-handers," Farrell said. "Sometimes it’s the outlier in which the splits become reversed, which they have this year for him. More than anything we have to continue to stick together as we do and we’ll get through this tough patch. It’s a pitch at a time to turn this ship around."

A pitch at a time perhaps, but who will be at the plate?

4. There's exceeding expectations, and then there's doing what Doug Fister has done in a Red Sox uniform.

The Sox pulled the journeyman from the scrap heap in June, claiming Fister off of waivers after he'd released by Anaheim's Triple-A affiliate. Given a spot in the rotation, Fister has done nothing but impress down the stretch.

His complete game one-hitter against the Indians was remarkable last week, and he followed it with another strong outing on Sunday.

Tip the cap to Dave Dombrowski; this was a great pickup.

5. One key to Fister's success has also been crucial to Chris Sale's dominance this season.

Sandy Leon.

In the 30 1/3 innings Fister has thrown to Christian Vazquez, opponents are hitting .286 with an 845 OPS against him, and his ERA is 5.93. With Leon behind the plate, those numbers shrink to .211 and .593, with a 3.07 ERA.

Fister singled Leon out after Sunday's start.

"Sandy again called a great game. We try to keep those hitters off-balance," Fister said. "We tried to expand the strike zone a little bit with two strikes and see what kind of chases we get, but at the same time we're getting some bad contact early, and that's the name of our game."

6. Rafael Devers has cooled a bit, and the reason is a pretty simple one.

"The book travels quick," Farrell reasoned. "All of a sudden he's getting pounded in with some , some cutters. The biggest thing is for Rafael to understand how the adjusted attack plan against him has taken place. It's been a hard-in, soft-away combination, and the biggest thing is to maintain a disciplined strike zone. It's not uncommon for some guys to maybe get a little frustrated and start to maybe expand the strike zone, chase somewhat, but just to have a better understanding of how pitchers are now attacking him."

Advanced scouting is something that catches up to just about everyone in their rookie season, Andrew Benintendi had a tough time with it in July, but Devers already appears to be adjusting. His two doubles on Sunday afternoon were an encouraging sign.

7. The Orioles are one team the Red Sox would be happy to avoid in the postseason.

Sitting at .500, the O's are still very much in the Wild Card mix, and they've had Boston's number this season.

After last weekend's decisive sweep, the Sox are 6-10 against Baltimore, with one more September series at Camden Yards.

"They just hit. Throw a strike and they're going to hit it and hit it hard," Mookie Betts said. "How to get them out, I'm not really sure. But I know when you throw a strike, it gets hit. And they're hot right now, too."

The Sox should hope they cool off in September.

8. On a weekend filled with low lights, Mitch Moreland provided a moment to remember.

Not wanting to tax his bullpen any longer in Friday's 16-3 blowout loss, Farrell put Moreland on the mound for the ninth inning.

"Skip just came up to me and asked if I could pick us up a little and I said sure," Moreland said. "Hadn’t done it in a while but I was happy to go out there and try it out."

The first baseman responded with a scoreless frame, topping out a 92 mph to end the inning with a strikeout.

"They might have juiced it up a little bit, I don’t know," Moreland said. "I tried to throw that one a little bit harder just because I had two strikes and just hoping it’d be my last one."

9. dropped the ball in the aftermath of the Yankees brawl with the Tigers.

Giving the fight's instigator, Miguel Cabrera, seven games was fine, only a four-game ban for Gary Sanchez? And nothing for ?

Sanchez sucker-punched two defenseless Tigers on the ground, and Betances smoked a batter in the head with a 98 mph heater.

Discipline czar Joe Torre will likely point to the game situation for Betances' fastball, but determining intent is exceptionally tricky. After getting four games for a pitch behind Manny Machado this season, Matt Barnes has reason to raise an eyebrow at Torre letting Betances off scot-free.

*The New Hampshire Union Leader

Mike Shalin's Working Press: Why weren't Cavs hip to IT's injury?

Mike Shalin

OK, let’s get something quickly out of the way.

Barring injury or a zombie apocalypse of some sort, both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum will be on the floor for the NBA opener in Cleveland.

FOR the Boston Celtics, not against.

As if it were some national secret, the Cavaliers have discovered Isaiah Thomas has a hip problem, perhaps even a serious hip problem. Really? Did they hear Danny Ainge allude to it as the trade was announced? Did they hear Brad Stevens say the Little Big Man might not be ready for the start of the season? Did they notice Thomas wasn’t playing when they eliminated the Celtics?

Now, they want more.

They negotiated a deal many Celtics fans said was too expensive to bring Kyrie Irving to Boston. Now, they want more. Adrian Wojnarowski says they are asking for Brown or Tatum, the last two No. 3 picks in the NBA draft.

Seriously?

Probably not.

But you can’t get something — anything — without asking.

What will happen here? First of all, Ainge can play hardball and stick to his guns, but this deal cannot fall through, for either side. Irving can’t go back to Cleveland. Thomas cannot go back to Boston, although both deserve credit for not torching their bridges on the way out of town.

The Celtics still have an abundance of draft picks and a future No. 1 or two No. 2s should be able to get it done.

Remember, we’re a month and a half away from that Celtics’ visit to Cleveland for the NBA opener.

Old pal Peter Vecsey (@petervecsey1) says: “Nets brass has asked the league office, should the Cavs- Celtics trade be voided, can they get their pick back???”

And from Wojnarowski Monday: “Sources: As Boston waits on finalization of Irving deal, free agent F/C Thomas Robinson working out at facility for possible roster spot.” He’s a rebounder.

Painful loss

Tom Brady, making his weekly WEEI appearance Monday, talked about losing security blanket Julian Edelman for the season.

“It’s a challenging part of the job, it really is,” he said. “In my 18th year, it certainly isn’t that easy. I don’t think you should take those things well. You hate to see guys get injured. You hate to see guys that you’ve had so much experience with get injured. I think just because there is so much dependability and trust.

“You’ve been through these things. You know what you can count on. I think it was pretty tough. That was a tough night for me the other night, and it still is.”

The loss of Edelman brings up the thoughts of this team going 19-0 en route to another championship. There are just too many variables for that to happen — and losing Edelman can’t be something that furthers that thought.

The Patriots lost Brady on the first drive of the 2008 season, won 11 games with Matt Cassel and didn’t make the playoffs. They have endured the too-often loss of Rob Gronkowski and gotten through it. They will get through this as well but starting a season under the pressure of 19-0 — especially when you play in a division that almost always guarantees you six wins — is significant.

“We’re going to be tested this year,” said Brady, who referred to Edelman as ‘a tough guy, man.’” “We’re going to be tested early. I am sure he is not going to be the only one that gets injured over the course of the year. Every team has injuries so they are dealing with the same thing. No one is going to feel sorry for us. We have to understand this is where we’re at and this is how we have to get the job done and work as hard as we can at it.”

Interesting question

My buddy Jonny Miller of WBZ posed a question during Sunday’s game at Fenway:

If both Brady and (Jimmy) Garoppolo both go down, would Belichick bring in Colin Kaepernick?

Jacoby Brissett would likely take over. But Kaepernick as a backup?

Yep.

The Patriots have brought in controversial players before. Sure, Kaepernick, in his national anthem protest, has become kryptonite for the NFL, but can anyone out there tell me he’s not one of the 65 best quarterbacks in the world? Please.

He is being blackballed by the NFL, but Robert Kraft could stick it to the league by bringing him in.

Remember, Kaepernick threw for 6,566 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2013 and ’14. He did throw 18 picks, but look at the numbers of some of the other guys (Geno Smith?) on rosters.

Hanley problem

Dustin Pedroia will run the bases in Toronto this week (hopefully, for the Red Sox’ sake, better than he and his teammates have run them in real games) in preparation for his return. So it’s not too soon to think about the lineup when Pedroia returns.

Eduardo Nunez, despite going 0-for-10 (the last nine after suffering a hand injury) in the three straight losses to the Orioles over the weekend, has earned the right to play. With Pedroia back and Rafael Devers manning third base, where does Nunez play?

How about DH?

Hanley Ramirez has been terrible. He has two homers and nine RBIs in August and is 1-for-17 with eight strikeouts in his last four.

So, against righties, don’t be shocked to see Mitch Moreland at first and Nunez as the DH. Makes sense — unless, of course, Ramirez gets hot this week in Toronto and New York.

Love this tweet from @lindseyadler: “Wait a second... David Price has a human child — a son — and yet his nickname jersey is “Astro’s Dad,” named after his dog???”

Just wondering, with the Red Sox losing all three games wearing those gimmick shorts over the weekend, is Chris Sale in charge of taking out his scissors and cutting them up?

In other Red Sox notes: Doug Fister has a 3.41 ERA, 30 strikeouts, 10 walks, in five starts in Price’s spot. … The Red Sox recorded their 13th bases-loaded, inning-ending strikeout of the season Sunday. … Chris Young, who had that K and ended three innings stranding a total of seven runners, ended that game hitting .198 with a homer and four RBIs in 81 at-bats yet keeps batting in power spots against southpaws. … John Farrell on his pitchers giving up runs early (13 in the first three innings of the three weekend games: “To be quite frank with you, our team is built to have the starter keep the game under control early.” … Sale’s last eight starts: 1.05 ERA in six of them, 14.63 in two outings against the Indians.

*The Portland Press Herald

Tom Caron: Just when things were looking good for Red Sox …

Tom Caron

Hot streaks and cold skids come and go over the 26 weeks of a major league baseball season. While it is a cliché, it is an indisputable truth that you cannot get too high or too low during the course of a season.

It would’ve been easy for Boston Red Sox fans to do both over the past two weeks. On Thursday the Sox began the day in Cleveland on the heels of two scintillating wins over the Central Division-leading Indians. The Sox were a full 41/2 games ahead of the Yankees in the AL East and pulling away from Cleveland in the battle for home-field advantage in a potential first-round series.

Then came unexpected disaster. Chris Sale had one of his worst starts of the season, the Sox were beaten 13-6. Boston had to settle for a four-game series split with the team that swept them in the 2016 playoffs.

The Red Sox hadn’t given up as many 13 runs in a game this season before Thursday’s loss. One night later they set an even lower standard in a 16-3 loss to the Orioles that featured five Boston errors.

Two days later, Baltimore headed home after a sweep at Fenway Park. Suddenly, Boston’s position atop the division didn’t feel very stable.

The four straight losses matched the longest losing streak of the season for the Red Sox, who were outscored 38-10 in that span. Boston’s offense was in a team-wide funk and the pitching was struggling mightily. Even after Doug Fister pitched another strong game in a 2-1 loss Sunday, the team’s ERA in the four-game slide was over 9.00.

Red Sox fans breathed a little easier after the Sox ended their losing streak with a 6-5 win over Toronto on Monday night.

If you’re an optimist you can easily dismiss this as a bump in the road. Entering Monday’s game, Boston still had the best record (15-8) in the American League since the nonwaiver trade deadline of July 31 and will undoubtedly get a boost when Dustin Pedroia and Jackie Bradley, Jr. return to the lineup in early September.

But a lot of Red Sox fans aren’t optimists. They look at this as the beginning of a slide that will knock the Sox out of their once-comfortable spot atop the division and into a steel-cage match that will see them fighting for survival in the AL wild-card race, where seven teams were within three games of the final spot.

We’ll get a much better feel for that by the end of the week, after the Sox and Yankees meet for a four- game series in the Bronx. It’ll be the last meeting of the year between the two rivals, and a chance for the New Yorkers to stake a claim for the divisional title.

The Red Sox can’t get caught looking ahead to that series, with three games in Toronto to begin the trip. There are just five weeks remaining in the season, and the stretch run is about to begin. A two-game lead in the loss column isn’t big enough to get caught daydreaming.

For Sox fans, the sting of last year’s three-and-out appearance in the postseason is still fresh. We know that the good vibes of a first-place run can disappear in just a few days.

And these last few days weren’t very good to the Red Sox.

*Redsox.com

Vazquez (4-for-4), Sox rally, pad East lead

Ian Browne and Keegan Matheson

TORONTO -- In danger of losing five in a row for the first time this season, the Red Sox instead combined a gritty starting pitching performance by Drew Pomeranz with several strong defensive plays and a 4-for-4 night from Christian Vazquez en route to an important 6-5 victory over the Blue Jays in Monday's opener of a three-game series at Rogers Centre.

With the Yankees losing to the Indians, the Red Sox pushed their lead in the American League East to 3 1/2 games. It was the opener of a seven-game road trip that will finish with a four-game series at Yankee Stadium.

"I think any time you get out on the road, particularly after the four games we're coming off of, to get back in the win column is big," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "Obviously with [the Yankees losing] in New York tonight, we create a little bit more space. We came out and we put together a good effort tonight."

In defeat, the Jays got an amazing grab from center fielder Kevin Pillar, who raced to the gap in right- center and dove in front of the scoreboard to rob Mookie Betts of extra bases in the sixth. At the time, the catch preserved a one-run lead. According to Statcast™, it was a 4-Star catch with a 38 percent catch probability. Pillar needed to cover 82 feet in 4.6 seconds. He also hit a sprint speed of 29.8 feet per second.

"He has to get a Gold Glove at some point," Toronto starter Marcus Stroman said of the play behind him. "What he does every day is ridiculous. I'm just happy to have him back there saving me runs, saving me from working out of trouble. He's been huge for me all year. He shows up every single day. He grinds. He's a special player."

Shortly thereafter, the Red Sox turned the tables. Trailing, 3-2, in the seventh, Vazquez unloaded for a two- run homer into the second deck in left field against righty reliever Danny Barnes that gave the Red Sox their first lead. Boston added insurance runs in the inning on an RBI single by Mitch Moreland and a bases- loaded walk to Xander Bogaerts.

The homer by Vazquez -- his fourth of the season -- came on an 0-2 fastball by Barnes.

"Always with two strikes, they pitch me up-and-in," said Vazquez. "I was looking for that."

Pomeranz (14-4, 3.23 ERA) battled throughout his six-inning performance and minimized the damage, giving up three runs while working around five walks and seven hits. The lefty moved into a tie with teammate Chris Sale and Kansas City's Jason Vargas for the AL lead in wins.

"That was pretty much a battle straight from the beginning," said Pomeranz. "Just struggled with my command of pretty much everything for most of the game, but I was able to make a few pitches when I needed to the most, and we made some really great plays out there to get us out of jams."

Craig Kimbrel worked around a two-run shot by Justin Smoak -- his 36th homer -- in the ninth to earn his 30th save.

Stroman turned in a strong performance, allowing just one earned run over six innings in which he walked none and struck out four. He left with a 3-2 lead, but the bullpen couldn't hang on.

"I thought I had a good mix," Stroman said. "Kind of went to some of my offspeed more today, but I felt like it's a tough lineup over there one through nine. They battle. They take really good pitches. They work counts. So any time you can keep that team to under three runs, it's tough to do. I did everything in my power just to keep my team in the game as late as I could."

The Jays jumped out in front early on a two-out, two-run double by Kendrys Morales in the first. Boston sliced the lead to 2-1 when Hanley Ramirez scored from third on a throwing error by catcher Raffy Lopez on Vazquez's steal of second. Eduardo Nunez tied it up for the Red Sox by smashing a homer to left to lead off the third.

Thanks to an RBI single by Ryan Goins in the fourth, Toronto was back on top, 3-2. That's how it stayed until the Red Sox stole the momentum in the seventh.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Bold throw by Devers cuts down run: WIth the bases loaded and one out in the fifth, Rafael Devers made a big-time play for the Red Sox at third base. Pillar hit a grounder toward the line that Devers fielded about 20 feet behind the bag. It seemed like a bold move to throw home on a play like that, but that's exactly what Devers did, making a perfect throw to force out Josh Donaldson.

"My mentality initially was to go to first, but when I saw he was already halfway down the line, I went home with it," said Devers. More >

Pomeranz than snared a liner off the bat of Darwin Barney on another nice play to end the inning and keep it a one-run deficit at 3-2.

Slumping Hanley starts big rally: Demoted to the No. 7 spot for the first time this season, a slumping Ramirez laced a single to center to lead off the game-turning top of the seventh. Just after the single by Ramirez, Vazquez launched his homer to put Boston in front. Ramirez had a double earlier in the game and scored twice.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

With the win, the Red Sox are one of five teams not to have a five-game losing streak.

For the sixth time in 2017, Stroman tossed a quality start and came away with a no-decision.

WHAT'S NEXT

Red Sox: When Sale (14-6, 2.88 ERA) takes the mound for Tuesday's middle game of this series, he will be coming off back-to-back, non-quality starts for the first time this season. Sale's last outing was his shortest as a member of the Red Sox, as he was belted around for seven hits and seven runs (six earned) over three innings. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. ET.

Blue Jays: Left-hander Brett Anderson (2-2, 8.18 ERA) will make his first Blue Jays start in game two of the series Tuesday. Anderson signed a Minor League deal earlier this month after being released by the Cubs and has made two starts at Triple-A Buffalo, allowing just one earned run on four hits over a combined 9 2/3 innings.

Devers' snap decision saves big run for Sox

Ian Browne

TORONTO -- With the bases loaded and one out and the Red Sox down by a run in the bottom of the fifth inning Monday night, third baseman Rafael Devers was about to concede a run and nobody would have blamed him.

The grounder by Kevin Pillar was hit down the third-base line and Devers fielded it roughly 20 feet beyond the bag. His body was turned toward first, and Devers was about to fire across the diamond.

But the 20-year-old had the presence of mind to see Pillar was likely going to beat it out. So on the fly, Devers made a perfect throw home and nailed Josh Donaldson by maybe a half-step.

When the Red Sox came storming back to pull out a 6-5 victory, the play by Devers was looked at as one of the biggest moments in the ending of a four-game losing streak. The Red Sox are back up by 3 1/2 games over the Yankees in the American League East, as their top prospect continues to make key contributions in a pennant race.

"My mentality initially was to go to first, but when I saw he was already halfway down the line, I went home with it," said Devers. "Basically I was thinking if the ball was hit hard to me, I would go for the double play. In that situation, the only play I had was to go home with it."

It was still a tough play to make.

"Somehow he got the throw around the runner," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "It was a key play at a pivotal time in the game."

Winning pitcher Drew Pomeranz followed that play by snaring a liner by Darwin Barney and the Red Sox somehow didn't allow a run in the inning.

"I didn't know what he was going to do with it," Pomeranz said of Devers. "I thought maybe he was going to throw it across or try to step on third, but he made a great play and [catcher Christian Vazquez] did a great job staying on the base there."

Vazquez had a big night, going 4-for-4 and smashing a two-run homer to put the Red Sox ahead. But his most challenging moment of the game was completing the play by Devers.

"Yeah, [Devers] was looking to first base and when he threw to home, I was trying to touch home plate," said Vazquez. "I forgot about where home plate was, but I touched it. It was crazy. It almost hit Donaldson. It was close."

One of the most impressive things about Devers in his first month in the Major Leagues is his ability to adapt on the fly.

"Last-second instincts kicked in," said Farrell. "Knowing that he can't turn a double play, and then I've got to believe, out of the corner of his eye he probably sees where Donaldson is in relation to home plate, and he threw a strike from about 115 feet. So, like I said, a key play at that time in the game."

Pedroia, JBJ could rejoin Red Sox in Bronx

Ian Browne

TORONTO -- Dustin Pedroia will give his left knee a strong test during the three days the Red Sox are in Toronto, and the club should have a better idea of when he can return to action by the time the series ends Wednesday.

"He already ran earlier today, ran on the back edge of the infield to get some longer sprint work in," said Red Sox manager John Farrell before Monday's series opener against the Blue Jays. "He did some change of direction with some balls in the air. He'll hit live on the field today. The running will be the same [Tuesday]. Then Wednesday, we're of the plan that he would run the bases with a little more intensity."

Pedroia has played just one game in August and hasn't played second base for the Red Sox since July 28. Is there any chance the second baseman could return during the four-game series against the Yankees that starts Thursday in New York?

"We'll probably have a better read on that after Wednesday's work here," said Farrell. "That's the one thing, with the increased intensity and the change in direction and just the power that running the bases will generate, that will be a more indicative read at that point."

While Pedroia playing this weekend might be optimistic, it's realistic that center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (sprained left thumb) could be activated when he is eligible Saturday.

"At this point, yes," said Farrell. "He'll hit in the cage today, hit on the field [Tuesday]. So he's making really good strides the last three or four days."

Worth noting

• Slumping designated hitter Hanley Ramirez, who entered Monday slashing .200/.309/.357 with two homers in 81 plate appearances this month, was dropped to seventh in the batting order for the first time this season. In his first 410 at-bats, Ramirez had just 49 RBIs.

"We've had a lot of [RBI] opportunities that have come up, I think, probably Hanley would be one of the first ones to acknowledge that this month in particular has been a little bit of a tough stretch for him," said Farrell. "So it's a little bit of a shuffle to the lineup. When he's hitting to what he's had a long track record of doing, we're a very different offensive team."

Young's heart with hometown of Houston

Ian Browne

TORONTO -- Red Sox outfielder Chris Young is in Toronto with his team for a three-game series, but his heart is very much with his family and friends in his hometown of Houston, which is dealing with the severe effects of Hurricane Harvey.

"It's hard," said Young, who graduated from Bellaire High School in Houston. "I wish I could be there with my family right now just to help them out. A lot of my family has been evacuated from their homes, electricity out. They're finding safe places to go to, to try to wait this out and see what happens, but it's just tough out there right now. All I can do is see the video and the pictures and all that. You just hope everybody's all right."

Young has kept in constant contact with his parents since the storm hit over the weekend.

"Oh yeah, phones are working fine. I'm able to talk to my parents. My mom was evacuated from her home," said Young. "My sister's electricity is out. Everybody's being able to find safe places to go. So, that's all that's really important. They're safe.

"Everybody in my family, that I know of, is safe and sound right now. Personal belongings and stuff, that stuff is just stuff. It's not important. As long as they're safe and healthy and out of danger."

Young donated to a fund started by Houston Texans star linebacker J.J. Watt that had raised over $500,000 by Monday for those impacted by the storm.

As much as the outfielder is focusing on his job with the Red Sox, he admitted that it's not easy at the moment.

"I mean, when you step on the field, you're able to get away for a second. I'm talking to my family every hour," said Young. "They're keeping me in the loop, and they're assuring me that they're safe and for me not to worry, but you can't help but worry, especially when you're so far away. You just can't do anything to help. It [is tough], but at the same time, you can't do much about it."

*WEEI.com

Bradford: How one play defined Rafael Devers

Rob Bradford

TORONTO -- We thought we knew Rafael Devers.

Heading into what would be a Red Sox' 6-5 win over the Blue Jays Monday night, Devers had already sold himself. In 28 games, the 20-year-old rookie already hit eight home runs with a batting average of .296. He chewed a lot of gum, smiled a bunch, and was offering this team the offensive infusion it desperately needed.

There was also the understanding that while Devers might slump here and there, it wasn't going to be because he was overmatched. After his 0-for-4 against the Jays, this was a guy whose evolution had put him in a 4-for-35 slump (.114). But the image of the lefty slugger launching Aroldis Chapman's 102 mph heater over the Yankee Stadium fence still was going to win out for the time being.

That was it, right? Wrong. There was more to uncover, as we found out thanks to Kevin Pillar's bases- loaded grounder.

With the Red Sox and Drew Pomeranz barely hanging on, trailing by a run with one out and the bases full in the fifth inning, Pillar pounded a ground ball down the third base line. Devers moved over, collecting the ball well behind the bag, and immediately eyed the potential out at first. That's when, in a matter of a few seconds, we got an idea of why this is not the kind of rookie we saw in Yoan Moncada a year ago.

He threw home.

"Yeah, that was the only play I had," Devers said through translator Daveson Perez. "Basically I was thinking if the ball was hit hard to me, I would go for the double play. In that situation, the only play I had was to go home with it." The third baseman added, "My mentality initially was to go to first, but when I saw he was already halfway down the line, I went home with it."

Getting Josh Donaldson at the plate was undeniably one of the biggest plays in this Red Sox win. But it was more than that. It was a reminder why Devers might be equipped to deal with this pennant race, even the kind of offensive downturns we're currently witnessing.

It's a side of Devers we might have have overlooked. But, evidently, it's a pretty big part of the equation.

"He's always been a mature kid," said Red Sox mental skills coach Laz Gutierrez, who has known Devers since the Red Sox signed the infielder as a 16-year-old. "He has a baby face and everything, but he's always been a mature kid. He's always been diligent at his craft. He always works at it, and always wants to win. When talking to that staff in Portland, the one thing Carlos Febles will tell you is that this kid wanted to work early every single day. And even beyond Carlos, the guys who managed him before that and coached him before that said the same thing. Early on he knew the importance of having a routine, and it was beyond just hitting. These guys love to hit, so it's always hitting, hitting, hitting. But he worked on all aspects of his game. And I think what you see now is all that work that he's put in, and some of it is credit to who he is as a player. That play he made today, that's pure instinct."

Has he seen that from Devers before (because we hadn't)?

"Absolutely," Gutierrez responded. "Listen, I can't speak for our scouts and what they saw. But the one thing that you've always seen with Raffy aside from the work ethic and aside from the tools is that he's an instinctual player, and obviously that's playing up now.

"He's absolutely the same kid. And, listen, we could say that about the group we have here who are home grown. I think that's one of the reasons we've seen success and the reason this group has been successful. They've been able to be the same guys they have been in the minor leagues. That's what you're seeing now. There hasn't been a difference. There's a tendency for everyone to try and show they have to do do something differently and be someone else. These guys have been able to remain who they are, on the field and off the field."

It was just one play, and didn't even involve hitting a ball over the wall. Still, it said a lot.

Confidence. Instincts. Ability. Meet Rafael Devers, the player who took another enormous step toward defining what the Red Sox will have at third base for the final 31 games.

"He came with a lot of description by the player development staff that he’s a very genuinely confident kid," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "I think that’s why you see him keep the speed of the game under control. Tonight was a prime example of it. You see him in the batter’s box with the same presence. Kind of a natural."

Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 5: This catching blueprint is actually working out

Rob Bradford

TORONTO -- For a first-place team, a lot has sure gone awry for the Red Sox.

The plan to have Hanley Ramirez and Mitch Moreland platoon at first base in order to get Chris Young's bat in the lineup against lefties has been a mess. Ramirez hasn't been physically able to play first for much of the season, and even if he was Young's production vs. southpaws hasn't been good.

Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, and Jackie Bradley Jr. have all come up short in terms of what their 2017 progression was predicted to offer.

David Price, Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez and Steven Wright were all being counted on to help make up a formidable starting rotation. That hasn't really gone as planned, either. And even the player who was performing up to par, Dustin Pedroia, saw his knee derail what was going to be the kind of season he, and his team, had hoped for.

But there have been those catchers.

Christian Vazquez helped once again bring to light to the fact that the Red Sox' plan regarding their backstops has evolved into something better than most thought. Monday night, the dynamic was highlighted by Vazquez's mammoth, two-run homer in the seventh inning which gave the visitors the lead for good and propelled the Sox to a 6-5 win over the Blue Jays. (For a complete recap of the Red Sox' win, click here.)

The importance of Vazquez's homer shouldn't be tempered, with the Red Sox' offense wallowing through the first six innings in a manner that looked like a fifth straight loss was inevitable. But after new No. 7 hitter Hanley Ramirez got things going with a leadoff single, it was the catcher's fourth homer of the season that sent the Red Sox down the path they had been looking for.

"He has come up big," said Red Sox manager John Farrell of Vazquez. "You look at the walkoff home run, 0-2 home run, you’re never expecting that. you’re looking for just some square contact. Offensively he’s swinging the bat really well. He drives the ball into left-center field against another power right-hander and big night offensively for Christian."

As we sit here, wondering where the Red Sox are going to get consistent offense for the final 31 regular season games, we do know that Vazquez's bat has been a revelation. This time around the vision came in the form of the 27-year-old's third career 4-for-4 showing, finishing with a pair of singles and double to go with the home run. It left the righty hitter batting .294 with a .751 OPS.

Vazquez is the offensive threat among the Red Sox' backstops, while possessing the type of arm that still is a weapon in controlling the running game. His counterpart, Sandy Leon? While one could make the case that his bat has been a disappointment -- hitting .234 with a .674 OPS -- the reality is that this should have been along the lines of what the Red Sox expected. Because with pitchers carrying a 3.38 ERA with Leon behind the plate (second-best of any big league catcher), simply a serviceable bat will suffice.

Vazquez has now appeared in 77 games, while Leon has seen action in 71. Vazquez has 248 at-bats to Leon's 223. Vazquez usually catches Drew Pomeranz (who now shares the American League lead with 14 wins after giving up three runs over six innings), Doug Fister and Rodriguez, while Leon gets Chris Sale and Porcello.

It has worked. That was evident once again Monday night.

Proof a lineup demotion can be a good thing

Rob Bradford

TORONTO -- When it comes to hitting at the bottom of the batting order, few in baseball know the ins and outs better that Gary DiSarcina.

The Red Sox bench coach holds the distinction of possessing the second-most plate appearances hitting in the lineup's No. 9 spot in baseball history, only trailing Ozzie Guillen. So when the topic moving down in the batting order surfaces, DiSarcina might be somone you should listen to.

"Having experienced it a lot myself, it is what you make of it," he explained before the Red Sox' Monday night tilt with the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. "If you want to make it like a demotion and pout that you're in the bottom of the order and sulk, you're not going to benefit from it. How I looked at it was that I got to gather so much more information with eight hitters in front of me. Knowing going into it that I didn't hit like Tim Salmon or Garrett Anderson, but the importance of seeing guys we didn't see a lot … What's their fastball doing? Is it cutting? Is it sinking? Is it straight? What's his slider like? This game is all about information and I always approached it like I was picking someone's brain."

Using the bottom of the order to get players back on the right track is something the Red Sox have done with good success.

Jackie Bradley Jr. has used the No. 8 and 9 spots to find his stroke over the past few seasons, while Andrew Benintendi hit .406 in the nine games he found himself starting as the No. 6 hitter. And then there was Hanley Ramirez.

For the ninth time in his career, Ramirez started a game as the No. 7 hitter, taking up the spot for the series opener against the Blue Jays. As Red Sox manager John Farrell explained, with the designated hitter managing just a .191 batting average with runners in scoring position, it was time for a change.

"We talked a little bit before today on the move," Farrell said. "Still, don’t want to diminish his importance to us. The last time we were in here, it was probably the best stretch that he was on offensively all year, doing the things that were described, or at least executed that way. When he’s hitting to what he’s had a long track record do, we’re a very different offensive team."

And while DiSarcina isn't going to sit down with Ramirez and go down a checklist of positives that can gained with such a move, he is confident the DH can use the move to his benefit. (Ramirez claimed a pair of hits Monday night.)

"There are some things you let them process," DiSarcina said. "I don't even know if they knew that I played. They have to Google that, which I don't think they will.

"Obviously, we all have shared experience and there's something be said for moving down in the order. It's not permanent. You don't permanently see Hanley Ramirez hitting seventh. Sometimes it's just for a breather. John communicates with them and talks with them that it's temporary. We gave Benintendi two days down and just explained to him that he wasn't getting penalized. Just regroup. A lot of times they just have to gather their senses about them and take breather. Mental breaks are just as good as physical breaks. Just moving down five or six spots can be a mental break."

Chris Young monitoring family's safety in Houston

Rob Bradford

TORONTO -- Chris Young understands there isn't much he can do other than simply keep calling and praying.

The Red Sox outfielder, and Houston native, talked prior to his team's game against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre about the concern he had for his family during the current Hurricane Harvey-induced disaster, and how they're managing.

"It’s hard. I mean, it’s part of our lifestyle, so we can’t be there, but I wish I could be there with my family right now just to help them out," said Young, who went to Bellaire High School in the Houston area. "A lot of my family has been evacuated from their homes, electricity out. They’re finding safe places to go to to try to wait this out and see what happens, but it’s just tough out there right now. All I can do is see the video and the pictures and all that. You just hope everybody’s alright."

Young explained that his mother was evacuated from her home, and sister's electricity was out. And, as he noted, moving them out of the area really isn't an option. "There's not really an airport right now," he said. "The entire city is under water, so I think it’s just a situation two where, if everybody finds a safe place to go, everybody just kind of stays there right now."

Through it all, however, it appears that Young's family is not in harm's way.

"Everybody in my family, that I know of, is safe and sound right now," he explained. "Personal belongs and stuff, that stuff is just stuff. It’s not important. As long as they’re safe and healthy and out of danger."

Bradford: Lessons Red Sox can learn from 2011

Rob Bradford

TORONTO -- It was Aug. 28, 2011 and the Red Sox were fresh off what would be their last two-game winning streak of the season, a doubleheader sweep of the A's.

It was the first of what would be two straight off days thanks to Hurricane Irene, with Terry Francona's team sitting a season-high 31 games over .500.

A few days later, I was watching some pregame workouts in the Rogers Centre visitors dugout with one of the coaches. By then the Red Sox had lost four of their last six, but still were considered a juggernaut, carrying a seven-game lead in the race for the final postseason spot.

I brought up something to do with getting ready for the playoffs. The coach immediately snapped back with a genuine disgusted tone, reminding me that a trip to the postseason was anything but certain. At the time, that seemed like coaches-talk. Obviously, as we found out, it wasn't.

There have been so many explanations why the Red Sox collapsed that September. Maybe it started with that Hurricane Irene-induced doubleheader, when John Henry tried to placate his disgruntled group by handing out headphones. Perhaps it amped up during that Toronto series, when Francona held a team meeting a day after the Red Sox' 14-0 win over the Blue Jays, which would ultimately be followed by five straight losses.

The list of excuses was long, with the slings and arrows of blame flying all over the place straight on through the following offseason.

And while the collapse seemed somewhat like a perfect storm of chaos, there were lessons to be learned. The first one being that just because you've gotten to the end of August in fairly good shape, there is a long, long way to go.

The Red Sox head into their seven-game road trip carrying a 2 1/2-game lead over the Yankees, and a four- game losing streak. This should be the time John Farrell's club takes a quick glance at what happened in '11, and realize that it has to find a way to navigate what is going to be a 32-game season.

Yes, there is still just about one-fifth of the season still to be played.

Of all the problems that 2011 Red Sox team had when going through that 7-20 September, it was finding a way to keep the starting pitching intact that presented the biggest problem. The starters won just four games while averaging under five innings per start. The opponents' OPS against the Sox starters? An ugly .875. Their ERA? An even more discouraging 7.08.

Because of that dynamic with the starting pitchers, the Red Sox bullpen couldn't keep up either, throwing a major league-high 115 1/3 innings during that month. Conversely, the team that would ultimately catch the Sox, Tampa Bay, saw its bullpen 44 fewer frames.

Right now, the Red Sox have two of the top four pitchers in the majors in terms of innings pitched (Chris Sale and Rick Porcello). The duo is also three and four, respectively, when it comes to total pitches thrown.

Drew Pomeranz is still 34 2/3 innings shy of his career-high for innings pitched, but is just four starts away from eclipsing last season's pitch-count. As for some of the relievers, both Matt Barnes (10) and Heath Hembree (20) are among the big league leaders in terms of total pitches.

As far as the position players go, only Kansas City's Alcides Escobar and Freddy Galvis of Philadelphia have played more innings in the field than Mookie Betts. And rookie Rafael Devers is just 14 games shy of his career-high for total games played in a season, while Andrew Benintendi is 10 games away from his tops as a pro.

Maybe all of it is under control. But, still, reminders are never a bad thing.

The reality of what is left to be played. The need to monitor how much these guys have already played. The understanding that as good as it has been, it can be just as bad in a blink of an eye. They are all pitfalls that the Red Sox should be well aware of, thanks in large part to that ultimate history lesson of six seasons ago.

Red Sox lineup: Hanley Ramirez dropped to seventh

Rob Bradford

TORONTO -- Hanley Ramirez's lack of production has resulted in a lineup shake-up.

For just the 10th time in his career, Ramirez starts a game hitting seventh in the batting order. This time around the Red Sox designated hitter will do it in the series opener at Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays and their starting pitcher, Marcus Stroman. Ramirez's batting average has slipped to .244, hitting .200 with a .666 OPS in August.

"To take a different look," said Red Sox manager John Farrell when asked why he made the move with Ramirez. "We’ve had a lot of opportunities that have come up, I think, probably Hanley would be one of the first ones to acknowledge that this month in particular has been a little bit of a tough stretch for him so a little bit of a shuffle to the lineup."

When asked if Ramirez's issues were primarily a product of his ailing shoulders, Farrell noted, "I can’t say that there’s not some effect because of the work he gets done daily on his shoulders. Like all players, at this point and time of the year, there’s ailments. I don’t know that anyone is 100 percent so you look to make the best of the combinations available to you and that’s where you are with the lineup today. "

Here is the Red Sox' lineup with Drew Pomeranz on the mound for the visitors:

Eduardo Nunez 2B

Andrew Benintendi CF

Mookie Betts RF

Mitch Moreland 1B

Xander Bogaerts SS

Rafael Devers 3B

Hanley Ramirez DH

Christian Vazquez C

Brock Holt LF

*The Toronto Sun

Blue Jays' late rally falls short against Red Sox

Lance Hornby

TORONTO - The Stro Show turned into a Barnes burner that wound up searing the Blue Jays.

Marcus Stroman was one of many Jays who saw their good efforts wasted on offence and defence in a 6-5 loss to the division-leading Boston Red Sox on Monday night.

Stroman turned a one-run lead over to Danny Barnes in the seventh, looking to secure his team-high 12th win. But though the Jays bullpen has been getting by in a busy August, a Hanley Ramirez lead-off single and 0-2 count homer by No. 8 hitter Christian Vazquez gave Boston life.

They went on to light up a procession of relievers at the Rogers Centre. When combined with stranded base runners, it was enough cushion that a ninth inning two-run Justin Smoak homer off Sox closer Craig Kimbrel fell short.

“I know (the pen) has been working hard and sooner or later it catches up with you,” manager said. “Barnsey was coming out hard, but he left a ball out there and then Vazquez hit the home run and (Ryan) Tepera walks a guy on four straight (pitches), you don’t see that often. It’s a long year, but we can expand (the roster) in September — and we don’t have to use them all.”

The tight ending, with Kimbrel following Smoak’s 36th homer by walking Jose Bautista before Kendrys Morales popped out, gave the 35,650 fans on hand at least a taste of some September drama, like they enjoyed in recent years against long-time rivals such as Boston.

Despite dropping their past four heading to Toronto, the Sox found their feet as well as the one element they’ve missed this season — home run power. Vazquez and Eduardo Nunez went deep in handing Toronto its eight loss in 10 games.

“It’s a tough lineup over there,” Stroman said. “They battle, take pitches, work counts. Any time you can keep that team to under three runs, it’s tough to do. I felt great and thought I had a good mix. I did everything in my power to keep my team in the game.”

However, three times through five innings, the Jays wasted potential big pay days, including runners at first and second with a run in and nobody out. Ryan Goins, extending his hit streak to seven games, had driven in Kevin Pillar, but Raffy Lopez’s bunt attempt turned into a wimpy pop out. Steve Pearce, right after his third baseline laser landed just foul, grounded into a double play to cap the fourth.

The next inning, with Josh Donaldson and Smoak singling and walking, Bautista flied out to short right. A pass to Morales set up a full house, but Rafael Devers snagged Pillar’s grounder at third and after a second of hesitation, made a nice off-balance throw to force Donaldson at the plate. Pillar was certainly the right man up in that instance, hitting with a runner in scoring position in four straight games. On a busy night for Stroman fielding grounders, Sox starter Drew Pomeranz stabbed Darwin Barney’s drive to end the fifth.

“That was a big inning, big shot there,” sighed Gibbons. “A great play by the young kid (Devers).”

With Big Papi, a.k.a. David Ortiz, now retired, Mookie Betts is set to become Boston’s designated Jays killer, taking a .409 average against Toronto this season into Monday’s game. Betts has more RBIs against the Jays — 17 — than any other team this year, but did it with the glove in the third with his own leaping grab at the right-field wall, robbing Morales of his second extra-base hit of the night.

Donaldson’s string of setbacks from Sunday in Minnesota continued into Monday’s game. After a throwing error and getting picked off first against the Twins, he, too, grounded into a double play in the first inning. But from there, a Smoak walk and back to back doubles down the right-field corner by Bautista and Morales staked Stroman to a 2-0 lead.

Stroman was about to retire his sixth straight batter to open the game, until Pearce lost Ramirez’s sinking liner in the lights. Ramirez was singled to third by Vazquez and scored when Toronto catcher Lopez’s attempt at Vazquez at second sailed into centre field. In the third, Nunez drove a 3-1 Stroman offering just over the left-field wall, but it was the last run he allowed. Stroman’s four Ks on the night came on 99 pitches.

Stroman had a little game of chicken going on with Sox Adam Benintendi in the first inning. The rookie base thief, ranking second among all first-year players with 15 steals, got to first on a hard drive off a diving Barney and Stroman threw four times to first before getting Betts and Mitch Moreland to fly out. Benintendi is the first rookie in five years to steal at least 15 and hit 15 homers.

Toronto’s extended its run to nine game with a homer at Rogers, though it was a relatively another quiet night for the top of the order as a whole. Pomeranz improved his record to 14-4, while Kimbrel had his 30th save, putting down Pearce, Donaldson and Smoak.

*The Toronto Star

Jays’ bullpen can’t hold Stroman lead against Red Sox

Richard Griffin

The reality should have set in by now. The post-season isn’t going to happen for the Blue Jays in 2017. It’s reached the point, following Monday’s 6-5 loss to the first-place Red Sox, where manager John Gibbons is forced to use a 40-per-cent makeshift rotation, with two of the five starters changing constantly.

On Tuesday it will be lefthander Brett Anderson’s turn to make his first start for the Jays. He will become the 55th player to suit up for the major-league team this year, tying the club’s all-time mark set in 2012 and tied in 2014. It’s still August.

If the Jays do not win Marcus Stroman’s start every fifth day, they are not going to gain ground that calendar week. That the Jays are 16-11 in Stroman’s starts and nine games under .500 overall demonstrates the importance of the Stro Show.

On this night it was a collapse of the Jays’ overworked bullpen that spelled the difference. Entering the seventh inning with a 3-2 lead and nine outs to go, it was Danny Barnes, Aaron Loup and Ryan Tepera that torched the lead via a four-run Sox rally. It was the pen’s 22nd blown save. The wall has been hit and hit hard.

Barnes was into his 17th game since the all-star break and his personal difference between halves has been especially dramatic. Following a single and a Christian Vazquez homer and the blown save, Barnes has allowed 12 earned runs in 16 2/3 innings since the break for a 6.48 ERA. He had a 2.31 ERA in 32 appearances before the all-star game.

“I don’t know about (a wall), but I know they’ve been working hard,” Gibbons said of his beleaguered relief corps. “Sooner or later it catches up with you. A major-league season, that one extra month makes it a long year. Really they’ve been overworked to this point. We can expand in September.”

Even Justin Smoak’s two-run homer in the ninth, his 36th, off Boston closer Craig Kimbrel was not enough to overcome the four-run seventh inning.

There was one Jays highlight, a jaw-dropping catch by Kevin Pillar diving headlong onto the warning track just shy of the fence in right-centre field to rob Mookie Betts of a leadoff triple in the sixth. The crowd rose to its feet for 90 seconds, even Stroman and Ryan Goins applauded.

“I told him I think that was the best one I’ve seen, live,” Stroman said. “I feel like I’m always on the mound too, which means sinkers are usually up in the zone and get hit a long way because he usually plays shallow when I pitch. The way he goes back on balls is extremely special. He has to get a Gold Glove at some point.”

Stroman on this night went six innings, throwing 99 pitches, allowing two runs, just one earned, on seven hits, with a walk and four strikeouts. It was a bounce-back start after allowing five runs in a 7-6 win at Tampa Bay.

“I had a good mix, kind of went to more of my off-speed today,” Stroman said. “But I felt like that’s a tough lineup over there, one through nine. They battle. They take really good pitches. They work counts. So any time you can keep that team to under three runs, it’s tough to do. I did everything in my power just to keep our team in the game as late as I could.”

The Jays scored quickly against left-hander Drew Pomeranz in the first. With two out and nobody on, Smoak drew a walk, followed by doubles from Jose Bautista and Kendrys Morales. Bautista’s 214th double with the Jays moved him alone into eighth on the franchise list past John Olerud.

The Jays allowed an unearned run in the second on a throwing error by catcher Raffy Lopez, and their lead lasted just one Red Sox batter into the third. Leading off the inning, second baseman Eduardo Nunez lined a Stroman offering that just scraped the top of the fence in left. The Jays then took a 3-2 lead in the fourth on a Ryan Goins single to centre, his 51st RBI of the season in just 322 at-bats.

Stroman on this night went six innings, throwing 99 pitches, allowing two runs, just one earned, on seven hits, with a walk and four strikeouts. It was a bounce-back start after allowing five runs in a 7-6 win at Tampa Bay.

“I had a good mix, kind of went to more of my off-speed today,” Stroman self-analyzed. “But I felt like that’s a tough lineup over there, one through nine. They battle. They take really good pitches. They work counts. So any time you can keep that team to under three runs, it’s tough to do. I didn everything in my power just to keep our team in the game as late as I could.”

The Jays scored quickly against lefthander Drew Pomeranz in the first. With two out and nobody on, Justin Smoak drew a walk, followed by doubles from Jose Bautista and Kendrys Morales. Bautista’s 214th double with the Jays moved him alone into eighth past John Olerud.

After allowing an unearned run in the second on a throwing error by catcher Raffy Lopez, the Jays lead lasted just one Red Sox batter into the third. Leading off the inning, second baseman Eduardo Nunez lined a Stroman offering that just scraped the top of the fence in left. The Jays then took a 3-2 lead in the fourth on a Ryan Goins single to centre, his 51st RBI of the season in just 322 at-bats.

*Associated Press

Vazquez has 4 hits, Red Sox beat Jays despite Pillar's grab

TORONTO -- Even after Kevin Pillar turned in his latest highlight-worthy grab in center field, Christian Vazquez and the Boston Red Sox managed to put a painful weekend behind them with another win north of the border.

Vazquez had four hits, including a two-run home run, Eduardo Nunez added a solo shot and the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Monday night, snapping a four-game skid.

"Particularly after the four games we were coming off, to get back in the win column is big," manager John Farrell said. "That might have been the toughest four-game stretch we've had this season."

The Red Sox came into Toronto having lost their previous four by a combined score of 38-10.

Boston leads the second-place Yankees by 3 1/2 games after New York lost 6-2 against Cleveland. The Yankees and Red Sox begin a four-game series in New York on Thursday.

The Red Sox also overcame yet another crazy catch by Pillar, who dived to make a sensational play on the warning track and take a hit away from Mookie Betts in the sixth. The crowd of 35,630 gave Pillar a standing ovation.

"Kevin never ceases to amaze with what he does out there," manager John Gibbons said.

Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman, who applauded the catch from the mound, was especially appreciative.

"I told him I think that's the best one I've seen live," Stroman said. "He has to get a Gold Glove at some point."

Toronto lost for the eighth time in 10 games and dropped to 1-6 at home against the Red Sox. They've been outscored 47-22 in those games. The Blue Jays are 3-8 overall against the Red Sox.

Vazquez singled in the second and fifth innings, homered in the seventh and doubled in the eighth to help the AL East-leading Red Sox avoid their first five-game losing streak of the season.

Since July 29, Vazquez is batting .439 (25 for 57) with eight extra-base hits.

"He's swinging the bat really well," Farrell said.

Drew Pomeranz (14-4) allowed three runs in six innings to win his eighth straight decision, extending his career-long stretch.

Pomeranz, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, stranded eight Blue Jays baserunners.

Addison Reed and Brandon Workman each worked one inning of relief, and Craig Kimbrel pitched around Justin Smoak's two-out, two-run homer in the ninth to earn for his 30th save in 34 chances.

Pomeranz entered with an 11 1/3-inning scoreless streak but couldn't add to it against Toronto, surrendering a two-run double to Kendrys Morales in the first.

Batting seventh in the order for the first time this season, Red Sox designated hitter Hanley Ramirez doubled in the second on a ball that outfielder Steve Pearce appeared to lose in the lights. Ramirez later scored on a throwing error by catcher Raffy Lopez.

Ramirez singled off Danny Barnes (2-5) to begin the seventh and Vazquez followed by homering on an 0-2 pitch.

"Always with two strikes, they pitch me up and in," Vazquez said. "I was looking for that."

Boston tacked on two more in the inning. Mitch Moreland hit an RBI single off Aaron Loup, and Xander Bogaerts drew a bases-loaded walk against Ryan Tepera.

Ramirez came in 1 for 15 with eight strikeouts in his past four games but finished 2 for 4, his first multihit game since Aug. 22.

FIVE SPOT

Boston is one of five teams not to lose five straight at any point this season. The others are Cleveland, the , Minnesota and Washington.

BIG SWINGER

PGA golfer Jason Dufner took some swings in the cage before the Blue Jays took batting practice

TRAINER'S ROOM

Red Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia (left knee) ran on the field and is expected to run the bases Wednesday. ... Farrell said OF Jackie Bradley Jr. (left thumb) is on track to return Saturday against the New York Yankees.

WORTH NOTING

Toronto designated OF Nori Aoki for assignment and recalled RHP Leonel Campos from Triple-A Buffalo.

UP NEXT

Red Sox: LHP Chris Sale (14-6, 2.88) has not allowed a run in 15 IP against Toronto this season, recording 24 strikeouts and just two walks. He gave up seven runs in three innings against Cleveland in his previous start.

Blue Jays: RHP Brett Anderson will be promoted from Triple-A to make his first Blue Jays start. The nine- year veteran was released by the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 1 after going 2-2 with an 8.08 ERA in six starts.