Blue Jays 8, Red Sox 1

 

And just like that, the Boston Red Sox are back to their losing ways, dropping two in a row in Toronto. They're now 2-2 in the Chad Tracy era, which at least is better than their year-to-date 12-19 record. The last-place Red Sox are eight games out of first place and 2½ behind the fourth-place Jays.  

Willson Contreras homered in the top of the first, so the game started off on a positive note, but after Toronto starter Eric Lauer settled in, that was it for the Sox. They managed to load the bases in the fifth, but then Contreras hit into a double play, ending the inning. They loaded them up in the eighth, too, but a Duran strikeout and a Wong grounder ended that inning. Still, at least they were hitting and threatening to score, even if not capitalizing on their opportunities.

But the news gets worse. No more Crochet Days for a while, at least 15 days. As many suspected, there was a physical problem that affected his season so far this year, and yesterday the Sox put him on the 15-day IL with an inflamed left shoulder. The Sox are off today and will play the equally hapless Astros (11-19) back at Fenway starting Friday; no word yet on who will be Boston's starting pitcher in lieu of Crochet in the first game of that series.