Red Sox eliminated from playoff race after loss to Blue Jays

Still, there was no room for error, and on Wednesday, Kevin Gausman and the Jays bullpen stopped the team. Gausman didn’t allow a run until the sixth inning, by which point he already had a comfortable lead.

Although Richard Fitts (0-1, 1.74 ERA) opened the game with three scoreless innings and extended his streak of consecutive innings without an earned run to 18⅔ – the longest streak by a Red Sox pitcher early in his major league career – he faltered in the middle innings.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk hit back-to-back doubles in the fourth inning to put the Blue Jays on the scoreboard. Kirk finally scored on an RBI single off Ernie Clement to put the Blue Jays up 2-0. One inning later, Kirk’s two-out, two-run single to the opposite field down the right field line put the Jays up 4-0. Toronto then won the game with Jonatan Clase’s two-run homer in the seventh inning against Sox relief pitcher Josh Winckowski.

Alex Speier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @alexspeier.