TORONTO — Last offseason, the Red Sox planned to revamp their center field. With shortstop Trevor Story finally healthy again and a trade for Vaughn Grissom looming as a potential long-term solution at second base, the team was hoping to significantly improve center field, which had been a black hole in 2023.
For nearly an entire season, that vision had no chance of coming to fruition. Grissom was on the injured list to start the year, and when he returned, Story had broken his shoulder and was sidelined until September.
But on Tuesday, the Sox at least got a taste of what both players offer when they stay on the field. The center fielders led a three-run rally in the 10th inning that lifted the Sox to a 6-5 victory at Rogers Centre. The win was the Sox’s fourth in a row and marked their longest winning streak since a five-game streak from June 30 to July 4.
With the score tied 3-3 in the 10th inning and Jarren Duran as a zombie runner on second base, the Blue Jays decided to issue an intentional walk to Triston Casas, setting up a righty-on-righty duel between Tommy Nance and Story. Story obviously took offense and hit a slider off the fence in left-center to score Duran and give the Sox a 4-3 lead.
After an RBI groundout by Connor Wong, Grissom capped his best day for the Red Sox with an RBI single to left – his third hit in a 3-for-4 night that also included a double and a walk – to give the Sox a 6-3 lead.
That three-run lead proved almost insufficient, as Zach Penrod allowed an RBI double and a walk with one out. Chase Shugart came in and drew two walks – the second forcing a run – to earn his first career save.
The fireworks of the 10th inning were a stark contrast to the slow burn of the previous nine innings.
In what will likely be his final outing of the 2024 season, Bello undermined his own cause in a 37-pitch third inning. The right-hander managed two walks, a one-out free pass to nine-hole hitter Joey Loperfido and a two-out walk to Nathan Lukes – extending the inning for Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The result? Pain. Guerrero capped a seven-pitch at-bat by hitting a slider into the middle of the zone that bounced off the fence in left-center for a full count to bring both runners home and give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead.
Although Bello didn’t allow any further damage, the laborious third inning increased his pitch count and hastened the end of his 30th start in 2024. He left the field after four innings, having allowed two runs on two hits and two walks while recording four strikeouts.
The outing left Bello with a 4.49 ERA in 30 starts and 162⅓ innings on the year – numbers that suggest limited progress from his 2023 season (12-11, 4.24 in 28 starts and 157 innings). Still, the Sox hope that Bello’s strong performance down the stretch, when he posted a 3.02 ERA in his final nine starts and 50⅔ innings, can serve as a foundation for another step in his career.
The Sox lineup, meanwhile, was once again stunned by Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis. Although the right-hander couldn’t quite repeat his spectacular Fenway performance from last August (7 innings without a hit, 1 hit), he was nearly as effective. Francis threw five scoreless innings and allowed just four baserunners (3 hits, 1 walk).
The Sox could take at least some comfort in knowing they aren’t the only ones rattled by Francis. The 28-year-old has held hitters to a .187 OBP since the All-Star break – the lowest post-break mark against a pitcher in major league history (minimum 50 innings).
After the Jays extended their lead to 3-0 with a run in the fifth inning against Sox relief pitcher Lucas Sims, the Sox offense woke up with a two-out rally in the seventh inning against the Toronto bullpen. Grissom and Wilyer Abreu worked a walk against left-hander Easton Lucas, and after the Jays called in right-hander Ryan Burr, Danny Jansen followed with an infield single to load the bases.
Nine-hole hitter Ceddanne Rafaela took advantage, hitting a hanging slider for a two-run single to make the game 3-2. In doing so, the rookie recorded his 60th and 61st RBI of the year from the ninth spot in the lineup, tying Jason Varitek (2003) for the most RBIs by a Red Sox from the last spot in the order.
One inning later, the Sox tied the game at 3-3 against left-hander Génesis Cabrera when singles by Romy Gonzalez and Triston Casas set the stage for an RBI by Masataka Yoshida with one out and fielder’s choice.
That comeback, in turn, paved the way for extra innings—and the long-awaited collaboration between Story and Grissom to help secure the win.
Alex Speier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @alexspeier.
