Red Sox Secure 6-4 Victory Over Blue Jays at Fenway

On Friday night at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 6–4. Anthony Seigler opened the game with a leadoff home run and finished with a career-high four hits. Romy Gonzalez delivered a go-ahead RBI double in the eighth, and Garrett Whitlock earned the win after a brief relief appearance. Aroldis Chapman recorded his 391st career save, moving past Dennis Eckersley for sole possession of ninth place on the all-time list.

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The Red Sox entered the game after a 15-game winning streak was snapped in a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles. Over their last 30 games they were 24-6, and the win kept them within the second American League wild-card spot. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, were 10 games below .500 and seven games behind Boston in the race for the final wild-card position, a deficit that makes a trade-deadline push increasingly unlikely.

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• Final score: Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 4.

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• Seigler: 4-for-10, 1 HR, 4 RBIs (career-high hits).

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• Ceddanne Rafaela: 2-run homer in the third.

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• Kazuma Okamoto (Blue Jays): 3-run homer, his 23rd of the season, setting a new Japanese-rookie record and surpassing Shohei Ohtani’s 22-homer 2018 season.

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• Patrick Sandoval (Red Sox starter): 4 2/3 innings, 0 earned runs, 5 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts.

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• Trey Yesavage (Blue Jays starter): 4 innings, 93 pitches, 9 strikeouts, 3 earned runs on 5 hits.

Blue Jays continue slide toward deadline sell-off with costly loss to Red Sox

• Aroldis Chapman: 24th save of the season, 391st career save.

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• Garrett Whitlock: first run allowed since June 23, ending a streak of 13 consecutive scoreless appearances.

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Blue Jays manager John Schneider noted Okamoto’s power “to all fields” and called the three-run homer “pretty cool” and a “great accomplishment.”

Blue Jays continue slide toward deadline sell-off with costly loss to Red Sox

• “We all knew this was going to happen. I mean, this is expected,” — Anthony Seigler

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• “I didn’t set myself up for success, but I got out of it,” — Patrick Sandoval

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• “We needed to play better at home. We needed to play better in the division. Those were two things we needed to do,” — Chad Tracy, interim manager

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• “He's unique where he has power to all fields,” — John Schneider, said manager

Blue Jays continue slide toward deadline sell-off with costly loss to Red Sox

• “Looking back, we had pitches to hit and just didn't get the results,” — John Schneider, said manager

Blue Jays continue slide toward deadline sell-off with costly loss to Red Sox

The victory moved Boston into the second AL wild-card spot and narrowed the gap to the division leaders. It also demonstrated the Red Sox’s resilience after a bullpen collapse in the eighth inning, as they reclaimed the lead with back-to-back RBI doubles. For Toronto, the loss kept them deep in the AL East cellar and reinforced concerns about their ability to close games as the trade-deadline approaches.

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The series continues Saturday with Blue Jays right-hander Trey Yesavage slated to face Red Sox left-hander Sonny Gray. Both clubs will look to build on Friday’s outcomes as the playoff race tightens.

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