The Toronto Blue Jays can’t find any consistency.

On Tuesday evening, they hosted the Boston Red Sox for the second of three games, falling 4-3 to bring their season record to 35-37. They once again won’t have a chance to reach .500 in this series.

Boston opened the scoring in the top of the second with a Dominic Smith single that scored Canadian Tyler O’Neill. However, the Jays added to their lead with the most runs scored in the second inning, as Ernie Clement drove in Justin Turner and Addison Barger to give Toronto the 2-1 lead.

It stood that way for a while, until Masataka Yoshida singled to centrefield to tie the game at two in the top of the sixth. It was the second earned run against Bassitt in what was a strong start for the starter.

No problem though, as Daulton Varsho led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and a stolen base, before Justin Turner walked. After Barger and Alejandro Kirk hit into outs, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a single to regain the Jays one-run lead.

That was the last time they’d scored though, as Tyler O’Neill hit his 15th home run of the season in the top of the eighth, his third of the series, before Ceddanne Rafael singled in to score David Hamilton, the game-winning run.

Things worth mentioning…

The Blue Jays’ bullpen is struggling. The two runs in the top of the eighth inning were tagged to Brendon Little. He got the final out in a lefty-vs-lefty matchup in the top of the seventh, but man, he’s not someone who should be pitching this late in the game with a one-run lead. Now, that has more to do with injuries and poor performances, but this bullpen is starting to look like the 2021 bullpen.

Chris Bassitt had a strong game, finishing with a line of 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K to bring his season ERA to 3.52. Had he gotten run support, he would’ve absolutely gotten the win.

There were three extra-base hits, all from “The Buffalo Boys”, as Spencer Horwitz led off the first with a near-home run, ending up being a double. Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider each had a double as well, while Addison Barger hit a single.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa has proven time and time again that he’s a clutch hitter. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, he hit a single that gave the Jays the lead, one of quite a few clutch hits he’s had this season.

Up next: The Blue Jays will look to avoid being swept for the first time this season in the third game of the series. It’s not a getaway game though due to the off-day on Thursday, with the game starting at 7:07 PM ET. Kevin Gausman will start against Brayan Bello.

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.





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