Red Sox annihilate Blue Jays; Peavy delights

Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 8-1 on Friday night. It was the first of a three-game series in Rogers Centre north of the border in Toronto, Canada. The Red Sox bounced back after the Yankees destroyed them on Thursday night, and advance to 11-13 on the season. The Blue Jays dropped their third straight and with the loss, fall to 11-12.

Jake Peavy took the mound for Boston and Mark Buehrle for Toronto. Peavy dazzled in his first three starts, but was shelled in his most recent against the Orioles. He turned it around tonight and got back on track, allowing five hits, one run, one walk and struck out seven in seven innings of work.

Buehrle came into the game with a microscopic 0.64 ERA and was expected to shut down the struggling Red Sox lineup. This was not the case, and gave up twelve hits, seven runs, three walks and punched out zero.

The biggest story going into this one was the return of third basemen Will Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks has been sidelined with a right calf strain since the second series. His return meant for the first time in 2014, the Red Sox were fully healthy and had the envisioned lineup on the field. He did not disappoint in his return, going 2-4 with two RBIs.

Game Notes: 

• Jackie Bradley Jr. was the offensive star in tonight’s game. He collected three hits, all extra base knocks, in five plate appearances. He also drew a walk and compiled an RBI.
• Everyone in the Red Sox’ lineup amassed at least one hit. Overall, Boston accumulated sixteen hits — nine were for extra bases.
• Chris Capuano and Andrew Miller pitched one scoreless inning. Capuano’s earned run average remains 0.00 in 14 frames.

The Red Sox take on the Blue Jays tomorrow at 1 p.m. eastern time. Two struggling pitchers square off in Clay Buchholz and Brandon Morrow.