After knocking off the Red Sox in the opening contest of their series to start the week, The Blue Jays looked to make it two in a row and secure the second spot in the AL East divison. The Jays would go to Easton Lucas on the hill after his standout performance in his first start of the season, and Boston would send off their brand new ace starting pitcher, fresh off his lucrative contract extension in Garrett Crochet.

The Blue Jays started the game off hot in getting runners on base, and had the bases loaded with two outs for Davis Schneider at the plate. But with the count full at 3-2, Crochet managed to freeze Schneider with a fastball at the top of the zone and got the call, putting the Jay’s threat to score to rest and kept the game scoreless.

Early on fans should’ve known this game would end up as a pitchers duel for the ages, with Lucas showing out yet again striking out four of the first five batters he faced, and Crochet looking his usual self being sharp as ever.

Finally offence would break through in the top of the sixth, when George Springer, hot off his 4/4 outing the night before, got through Crochet and launched one over the green monster, breaking the scoreless tie and giving the Jays a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, a couple of runner would be on base and Tyler Heineman would send a ground ball to second base that would be a difficult one to corral and the throw to first would end up low and behind the bag past the firstbaseman. This would be enough to let Davis Schneider score and give the Jays a 2-0 lead. \

The offence would refuse to let up in the sixth for Toronto, as the lineup would turn over with the bases once again loaded with two away for Bo Bichette. Bichette would rip a base hit up the middle and through into center field, bringing home another two runs in the process.

The bottom of the seventh would roll around and Easton Lucas’ day would be done after shutting out the Red Sox lineup and Yariel Rodriguez would step in as a replacement. With two outs and a runner on second base, Ceddanne Rafaela would chop a ground ball to Gimenez at second that would bounce off his glove and into shallow center field. The runner from second would come in to score and the Red Sox would finally get on the scoreboard and the game would now sit at 4-1 for the Blue Jays.

The very next half inning would come in the bottom of the eighth, and Bo Bichetter would come through again, knocking in his third RBI of the game with a base hit, scoring a run and adding onto the insurance. The bases would become loaded just a few batters later, and Anthony Santander would hit a ground ball to second that would be retrieved, and thrown on to first in time to get Santander. However, a run would still score on the play, giving Santander the RBI, and the Blue Jays a 6-1 advantage.

The Jay’s bullpen would tidy up the rest of the game, and Jacob Barnes came into the bottom of the ninth and sealed the game, ending it with a strikeout and finishing off another impressive Blue Jays win.

Springer was the hero at the plate in the first game of the series for Toronto, and Bo Bichette would be the came to come in clutch when it mattered in this one, showing eraly that he could be a real contender for comeback player of the year. As for Easton Lucas, once again the kid showed great stuff on the hill, and certainly making the most of his starting opportunities. Toronto now has jumped into first place in the AL East, and will look to continue their winning ways and win the series in game three Wednesday, when Kevin Gausman makes his third start of the season for the Jays.

Winner: Toronto Blue Jays (7-5)

Loser: Boston Red Sox (6-6)

PLAYERS OF THE GAME:

B. Bichette: 3/4, 3RBI, 1BB

G. Springer: 2/4, 1HR, 1RBI

T. Heineman: 2/3, 2R, 1BB

PITCHERS:

Win – E. Lucas: 5.1IP, 3H, 0ER, 8K (2-0)

Loss – G. Crochet: 5.2IP, 5H, 1ER, 4K (1-1)