The Toronto Blue Jays snapped a brief two-game skid against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night, salvaging a 6-1 win to close the series. The victory carried major playoff implications, as the Blue Jays remain atop the American League East and hold the league’s best record via a head-to-head tiebreaker over the New York Yankees.
For much of the night, the game was a pitcher’s duel. The teams were scoreless through five innings before the Blue Jays broke through against Boston starter Brayan Bello, scoring six runs in the sixth. Two were charged to Bello, while Daulton Varsho delivered the biggest swing with a grand slam that drove in four. George Springer also went deep, driving in two runs as well.
Toronto’s magic number this season has been five: the Blue Jays improved to 69-4 in games where they score at least that many runs.
On the mound, Toronto pieced together a bullpen game. Opener Louie Varland tossed two scoreless innings before six more pitchers combined to allow just one run the rest of the way.
With the regular season winding down, the Blue Jays still have work to do. They close with three games against the Tampa Bay Rays as they look to secure the AL East crown and the No. 1 seed in the American League. A slip could drop them from the top seed to as low as the No. 4 seed and first wild-card spot.
Tomorrow, they'll look to Shane Bieber in search of another victory.