Jays Win Series at Fenway

 

Photo From Jays Journal

The Toronto Blue Jays continued their ten-game road trip with a four-game series against AL East rivals, the Boston Red Sox.

Game 1 on Monday saw José Berríos take the mound, and he was solid, going six innings with only two strikeouts. Still, the Jays' bats came to life as they managed a convincing 6-2 victory, thanks to a standout performance by veteran George Springer, who went 4-for-4 with three RBIs.

Game 2 featured Easton Lucas making his second start of the early season. Heading into the game, many believed Boston had the upper hand, with their ace Garrett Crochet on the mound. The Jays, however, did a great job extending at-bats and inflating his pitch count. The first five innings went scoreless, but in the top of the 6th, George Springer hit a solo home run to center field—the deepest part of Fenway Park. It was Springer’s second home run of the season and opened the floodgates, as Toronto went on to score five more runs with contributions from Tyler Heineman, Bo Bichette, and Anthony Santander. Easton Lucas went five innings with eight strikeouts, and the Jays won Game 2 by a score of 6-1.

Game 3 brought the first pitchers' duel of the series, with Kevin Gausman facing Tanner Houck. Each team scored a run in the first inning, but the offense dried up afterward. Gausman threw eight strong innings, registering ten strikeouts. He then got help from the bullpen: Rodríguez threw a scoreless inning, and Jeff Hoffman pitched two innings with three strikeouts. In the top of the 11th, Bo Bichette advanced to third and scored Ernie Clement with a sacrifice fly, giving Toronto a 2-1 lead. Nick Sandlin then closed the door on the Red Sox, locking down the win and securing the series for Toronto. It's also worth mentioning that just a few hours before first pitch, the Jays officially announced Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s contract extension. He followed that up by going 3-for-5 with three singles.

Thursday—Game 4—is the one I want to focus on most.

Chris Bassitt took the hill, hoping to help Toronto sweep a four-game series at Fenway for the first time since 1988. Bassitt was excellent, going five innings with five strikeouts. In the 6th, Alex Bregman finally solved him, giving Boston a 1-0 lead. The Jays responded in the top of the 7th when Tyler Heineman brought in Will Wagner with a clutch single, tying the game. Travis Shaw advanced to third base with only one out, and Vladdy came off the bench to pinch-hit. Guerrero grounded into a force out, picking up his fifth RBI of the season to put Toronto ahead 2-1.

Yimi García came in for the bottom of the 8th, but unfortunately, the Jays found themselves tied again as Boston scored on a wild pitch. Toronto pulled ahead once more thanks to a sacrifice fly from the red-hot George Springer, scoring Andrés Giménez and giving the Jays a 3-2 lead. It looked like that might be enough—until Boston won the game in the bottom of the 10th. A combination of questionable strike zone calls and a costly error by Giménez led to a 4-3 walk-off win for the Red Sox, allowing them to avoid the sweep.

The errors are one thing, but for me, the more frustrating issue is the inconsistency of the strike zone from the umpire. I get that calling balls and strikes is hard, and it's easy to criticize from the couch when the broadcast has a virtual strike zone overlay. That tool exists to enhance the viewing experience—but the home plate umpire is supposed to be experienced. When you see pitches blatantly miscalled, it’s frustrating because those calls can directly impact the outcome of a game.

Yesterday, we saw Davis Schneider draw a walk—but two of the pitches called strikes were at eye level. Then in the bottom of the 10th, Nick Sandlin threw a pitch to Trevor Story that was clearly in the top-left corner of the zone. It should’ve been strike three and the second out. Instead, it was called a ball, which loaded the bases. I can’t wait for automated balls and strikes (ABS) to be introduced in the regular season. MLB tested the system this spring, and it worked—teams could challenge calls, and bad calls were corrected on the spot.

Baseball traditionalists say ABS takes away the "human element," but guess what fans don’t want? Human error. They want the right call. If ABS makes umpires look bad, maybe that’s because too many of them are bad. If Heineman could’ve challenged that call against Story, Boston likely wouldn’t have won the game.

Yesterday was just one of many recent examples, and surely there will be more. MLB needs ABS in the regular season to avoid games like that. But let’s be honest—nothing will change until the Yankees or Dodgers get burned by a blown call. If that happens, MLB will respond immediately.

Look, I know ABS is coming. But it can’t come soon enough.

Winning the series in Boston is great, but it’s tough to swallow a loss like the one Toronto took yesterday. The Jays now head to Baltimore for a three-game set starting Friday, and hopefully, they can bounce back and make the Santander homecoming a memorable one.

Thanks for reading!