BOSTON 5
TORONTO 2
BOSTON 鈥� The Boston Red Sox rolled through the pre-All-Star game portion of their schedule piling up wins. Now, they鈥檒l have a few days to sit back, relax and enjoy their historic start.
Xander Bogaerts homered in his first at-bat a day after hitting a walk-off grand slam and drove in two runs, leading the Red Sox past the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 on Sunday to enter the break with their best record since 1949.
鈥淚 think we did great. I think the record shows,鈥� Red Sox All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts said. 鈥淲e were pretty much in every game, had a chance to win every game and we won a lot of them.鈥�
Brock Holt also drove in two runs for the AL East-leading Red Sox (68-30), who own the major league鈥檚 best record and have won 12 of their last 13 games. They lead the Yankees by 4 1/2 games going into the break.
鈥淎nytime you鈥檙e winning you鈥檙e having fun,鈥� Boston outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. said. 鈥淛ust keep winning and you鈥檒l keep going good.鈥�
Betts went 0 for 3, lowering his major league-leading batting average to .359, and fellow-All Star J.D. Martinez enters the break with 29 homers and an MLB best 80 RBIs.
Teoscar Hernandez hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays (43-52). Toronto鈥檚 dropped seven of 10 and fell to 3-10 against the Red Sox this season.
鈥淛ust to reset. I think that鈥檚 the mindset of anyone,鈥� losing pitcher Marcus Stroman said before storming off later in the interview after a question from a reporter. 鈥淓ven if you鈥檙e playing well, it鈥檚 definitely good to get the break to kind of get away from the game, clear your head and hopefully come back and put some wins together.鈥�
Stroman was upset when asked about pitching at a field in Vancouver.
Brandon Workman (2-0), the first of five relievers, struck out the only batter he faced in the fifth after starter Brian Johnson was pulled with the score tied.
All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel got the final three outs for his 30th save, his eighth straight season with 30 or more. Johnson gave up two runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Bradley鈥檚 RBI double against Stroman (2-7) pushed Boston ahead 3-2 in the fifth, and he scored on Bogaerts run-scoring grounder off Stroman鈥檚 foot.
Holt鈥檚 second RBI single made it 5-2 an inning later.
Bogaerts, whose 10th-inning slam on Saturday gave Boston a 6-2 win, homered on the third pitch he saw, sending it completely out of Fenway Park over the Green Monster for his 16th of the season in the first.
Holt鈥檚 RBI single made it 2-0 in the inning.
Hernandez鈥檚 shot went over the Monster in the third.
Stroman gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits in five innings.
SPECIAL TIMES
Going to the All-Star game will have special meaning for Kimbrel, who is planning to take his 8-month-old daughter and his wife, Ashley, on the trip to Washington D.C.
鈥淵eah, it is,鈥� said Kimbrel of his seventh All-Star selection in the clubhouse Sunday morning. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a busy day trying to get everything ready.鈥�
Kimbrel鈥檚 daughter, Lydia Joy, had two open-heart surgeries shortly after her birth, the second causing him to miss most of spring training.
First-timer Mitch Moreland has a different reason with his 5-year-old son, Crue.
鈥淚 think the biggest thing over the years is watching the Home Run Derby, the guys having their kids with them out on the field,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to doing that with my son, my oldest, and I think he鈥檚 looking forward to that, too.鈥�
Lefty ace Chris Sale rounds out Boston鈥檚 five All Stars.
TRAINER鈥橲 ROOM
Blue Jays: Placed CF Kevin Pillar on the 10-day disabled list with a sternoclavicular joint injury suffered making a diving catch and rolling over Saturday. ... INF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was also placed on the 7-day concussion DL after sliding headfirst into first and colliding with Boston pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez鈥檚 leg.
Red Sox: DH Steve Pearce did some early-morning running on the field and was back in the lineup after missing two games with a bruised left shin from getting hit by a pitch on Thursday. . ..Rodriguez went on the 10-day DL with a sprained right ankle, opening a spot for Johnson, who was activated after a stint on the DL with left hip inflammation.
鈥淭here鈥檚 some serious damage in the ankle, no surgery required,鈥� manager Alex Cora said about Rodriguez. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to have a boot for two weeks and we鈥檒l evaluate to see where he鈥檚 at, no surgery, that sounds promising.鈥�
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: Open their post-break schedule with the first of three at home against Baltimore on Friday.
Red Sox: Begin a three-game series in Detroit on Friday.
