Game #96 Toronto Blue Jays (36-60) @ Boston Red Sox (51-43) - game recap

Teoscar Hernandez hit a 3-run HR and scored on a wild pitch in a 10-4 victory over the Red Sox

After a tough 10-8 loss to the Red Sox where a late inning rally fell short, the Blue Jays were looking to even the series. Jacob Waguespack was recalled to make a spot start. Edwin Jackson was DFA'd. Meanwhile Andrew Cashner made his Red Sox debut after the trade from Baltimore over the weekend. Vlad was back in the lineup after a complete day off yesterday and playing the hot corner and batting 2nd. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. got a half day off serving as the DH tonight. Cavan Biggio got a full day off with Eric Sogard taking his spot at 2B, Smoak at 1B and Randal Grichuk in right. Could the Blue Jays tie the four game series? Here is tonight's game recap.

#96 - Toronto Blue Jays (35-60) at Boston Red Sox (51-43)

"That damn pinball park at Fenway..."

Tuesday, July 16, 2019 | 7:10 pm

Fenway Park | Boston, Massholia

Jacob Waguespack (1-0, 5.00, 1.11) or an opener 

vs. 

Andrew Cashner (9-3, 3.83, 1.19)

PREAMBLE:

Last night, the Blue Jays looked like they were getting blown out of the ballpark before the offence made things interesting in the 8th and the bullpen did a fine job once Thornton and Sammy G were out of there.  Tonight is game two of a four-game set as the Blue Jays look to put out repeated fires on the mound set by their pitchers.

Jacob Waguespack has been called up to pitch in tonight's game.  He'll face Andrew Cashner, who will be making his debut as a Red Sox.  Here's hoping he brought the oriLOLes karma along with him -- for his career in Fenway Park, he's 0-1, 7.20 ERA.

Game #95 Toronto Blue Jays (35-60) @ Boston Red Sox (51-43) - game recap

Billy McKinney hit a 2-run HR in his return to the Blue Jays lineup in a 10-8 loss to the Red Sox

After dropping two of three to the hated Yankees, aka possibly the new home of one or both of Marcus Stroman and Ken Giles, the Blue Jays headed to Boston to take on a Red Sox team battling for a wild card spot. The Blue Jays made a roster move, sending Rowdy Tellez to Buffalo to work on his swing and get some regular playing time. Billy McKinney, who was in the lineup in the 8th hole and in RF tonight, was recalled. Trent Thornton made his first start of the second half. He tossed 6 shutout innings of three-hit ball his last time out.  Vlad got a complete day off for a bit of a mental break. He struggled like the rest of the Blue Jays in the series vs. the Yankees. Could the Blue Jays beat the Red Sox? Here is tonight's game recap.

#95 - Toronto Blue Jays (35-59) at Boston Red Sox (50-43)

Monday, July 15, 2019 | 7:10 pm

Fenway Park | East Massholia, MA

Trent Thornton (3-6, 4.85, 1.48) vs. Rick Porcello (6-7, 5.33, 1.42)

PREAMBLE:

After losing 2 out of 3 to the Yankees, the Blue Jays head a few hours up the coast to Boston (also known as East Massholia) for a four-game series.  With any luck, the Blue Jays can make a serious dent in the playoff hopes of the Red Sox by pounding the shit out of them in this series and leaving that middle finger above seared into the grass at Fenway Park.

Trent Thornton takes the ball tonight as he continues his reasonably impressive rookie season, all in the name of development.  He takes on that overbloated porcini mushroom, Rick Porcello, who has a career record of 10-12, 5.47 against the Jays.

Ten weekly random thoughts: Week 15: July 8-15

The all-star break is over and the unofficial second half began Friday at Yankee Stadium for the Blue Jays -- fitting because at least one pitcher (Marcus Stroman) may be in pinstripes in a couple of weeks. While his teammates escaped Toronto for a few days, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was serving notice to the MLB that he is/will be a force to be reckoned with in the final 2.5 months of the season. Guerrero Jr. hit a whopping 91HR, including a ridiculous 40 dingers to edge Joc Pederson in the semi-finals of the HR derby. Guerrero Jr. ran out of gas in the final round and was edged by the NY Mets Pete Alonso, who needed to hit a fraction of the HR to win. Alonso need to hit just 14 HR in the 1st round, due to a poor showing by home town favorite Carlos Santana. He also got a lot of rest between rounds with the marathon matchup between Guerrero Jr. and Pederson. Regardless of not winning the HR derby, Guerrero Jr. did excellent on the big stage. The Blue Jays have a fairly favorable schedule this week with a four game series at Fenway Park, followed by a three game set against the Detroit Tigers, who the Blue Jays split four games with in the season-opening series way back in March. The Blue Jays are 5-7 vs. the Red Sox this season, but the Red Sox have not looked like the team that won the world series in 2018. Meanwhile, Detroit is dead last in the AL Central and also soon to be parting ways with some of their veterans. Here are 10 random thoughts from week 15 of the MLB.