Blue Jays drop series finale against Sale, Red Sox

After tagging Red Sox ace Chris Sale for three earned runs, the Jays were unable to break through against a shaky Boston bullpen, taking the loss in the rubber match of the series in Toronto.

For a while, it looked like the Jays had it in the bag. They’d gotten to Chris Sale, notching three runs in the first three innings, and seemed to be finding their stroke offensively against a tough starter.

However, another rough outing from Marco Estrada hindered the boys in blue as they took the loss in a 5-4 series finale. This is only the second series the Blue Jays have lost so far this season.

Overall, Estrada went five innings, giving up five runs, all of them earned, on eight hits, striking out five and walking one. The big blow came in the fifth, when Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez went yard against Estrada, knocking in three on his fifth dinger this year.

Toronto’s offence was supplied by Justin Smoak and Devon Travis, who each smashed solo shots off of Sale early on. A sacrifice fly by Kevin Pillar knocked in the other run in the first inning.

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Although they kept it close, this is still a disappointing loss for the Jays. In a crucial series against the behemoth Red Sox, the Jays looked overmatched and weren’t able to take the rubber match. With this, they fall to 14-10 on the season, now 5.0 games back of the Sox.

On the bright side, the Jays’ bullpen was excellence. Aaron Loup (2.0 IP, 2 K), Seung-hwan Oh (1.0 IP, K) and Danny Barnes (1.0 IP, K) all put up zeroes in their respective innings, giving the bats a chance to come back. Still, it wasn’t enough, as Boston relievers Carson Smith, Matt Barnes and Craig Kimbrel shut them down to secure the victory.

A short memory is vital here, as the Blue Jays will open up a three-game set against the lowly Texas Rangers on Friday. The Rangers, who are 9-17 on the season, represent an easy target for the Jays as they aim to get back on track after back-to-back series losses against division rivals.

Marcus Stroman (0-2, 8.55 ERA, 21 K) will take the hill for Toronto against Mike Minor (1-1, 3.86 ERA, 20 K) at 7:07 pm EDT at Rogers Centre.

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