Aug 27, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen (28) tags out Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement (28) at home during the fourth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu each went 2-for-4 and combined for three assists in the outfield on a solid defensive night as the Boston Red Sox beat the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Tuesday.
Duran led off Boston’s three-run first inning with his third homer in two games, the first of which came Monday following a June 26 game that was suspended because of heavy rain.
Duran now has 20 home runs on the year and is the first player in major league history to record 10 triples, 20 home runs, 30 stolen bases and 40 doubles in a single season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Greg Weissert (3-2) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to get the win in relief of Cooper Criswell.
Toronto rookie Will Wagner enjoyed the second three-hit game of his young career, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and his first major league homer.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Daulton Varsho also had multi-hit games for the Blue Jays, both going 2-for-5.
Duran wasted no time putting the Red Sox ahead, depositing the second pitch from Blue Jays starter Yariel Rodriguez (1-6) over the wall and just inside the right-field foul pole.
Boston then restarted the offensive with two outs and Masataka Yoshida hit a two-run single up the middle to make it 3-0.
Addison Barger’s sacrifice fly to center put Toronto on the board in the third, but the Blue Jays struggled to narrow the deficit further, largely because of baserunning errors and good plays by a Boston defense that committed six errors in two games Monday.
After Duran caught Guerrero trying to turn a single into a double in the first inning, Joey Loperfido was thrown out at the plate in a relief effort that began with Duran on Wagner’s double in the second inning. Ernie Clement was the next victim of the Red Sox outfield, as Abreu caught George Springer’s flyout, then connected to Clement at the plate to end the top of the fourth.
The Red Sox were held to one hit between the second and fourth innings before a three-run fifth inning ended Rodriguez’s night with six runs and eight hits over the right-hander’s five-inning line. Rodriguez walked one and struck out three.
David Hamilton and Abreu each had an RBI single in the fifth, while Triston Casas added an RBI double.
Wagner and Varsho hit solo homers in the sixth and ninth, respectively.
–Field level media
