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“DIARY OF A WINNER” |
THE BEST RED SOX TEAM EVAH! ... April 24, 2018 ... With one big throw, and an even bigger swing, Curtis Granderson gave Toronto a reason to smile. Granderson threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the top of the ninth inning, then hit a walk-off homer in the 10th to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 4-3 win over the Sox and hand the Red Sox their season-worst third straight defeat. Granderson’s his third home run of the season came on a 2-0 pitch from Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel (0-1), a towering solo blast off the facing of the third deck in right field. Granderson went 3 for 5 with three RBIs. Kimbrel allowed his first earned run of the season and suffered his first blown save since Aug. 1, 2017, against Cleveland. The loss was Kimbrel’s first since Oct. 1, 2016, against Toronto. Tyler Clippard (3-0) worked a scoreless 10th for the win as Toronto snapped a seven-game home losing streak against the Red Sox. Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna was handed a 3-1 lead in the ninth but allowed the Red Sox to tie it, his first blown save in seven chances. Hanley Ramirez singled to begin the ninth, went to third on a one-out hit by Rafael Devers and scored on Eduardo Nunez’s single to right. It was the first run off Osuna this season. Jackie Bradley Jr. struck out and Nunez stole second before Christian Vazquez walked to load the bases for Brock Holt, who scored Devers with an RBI single to left. Left fielder Granderson threw out Nunez at the plate to prevent the Sox from taking the lead. Happ struck out a season-high 10 over seven innings. He walked none and allowed four hits and one run in his longest outing of the season. Rick Porcello allowed three runs and three hits in seven innings. Porcello walked three, two more than he’d walked in his previous four starts combined, and struck out a season-high nine, including five straight in the third and fourth. Porcello extended his scoreless innings streak to 14 by pitching around a one-out walk in the first but couldn’t escape the second. One run scored on Kevin Pillar’s fielder’s choice, and Granderson added a two-run single that bounced off Devers’ glove and rolled into shallow left field. Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and is 0 for 11 with eight strikeouts over his past three games. The Sox finished with a season-worst 14 strikeouts. The Red Sox have fanned 10 or more times in three straight. Xander Bogaerts (left ankle) went 2 for 3 with an RBI in a six-inning stint with Triple-A Pawtucket, and remains on track to rejoin the Red Sox on Friday. |
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