Drury hits Blue Jays’ third homer of Sale in 6-3 win over Red Sox

Jul 3, 2019 | 7:19 PM

TORONTO — Brandon Drury hit a tiebreaking two-run homer and Jacob Waguespack pitched five-plus solid innings in his return to the majors as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Boston Red Sox 6-3 on Wednesday.

Drury broke a 3-3 tie with his seventh home run of the season, a laser to straightaway centre field that knocked Red Sox starter Chris Sale out of the game in the sixth inning.

Danny Jansen also hit a two-run blast — his fourth in six games — and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. continued his own torrid pace with a solo homer for the Blue Jays (33-54).

Freddy Galvis reached base four times with three hits and a walk and hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Christian Vazquez homered for a third straight game and Rafael Devers drove in a pair of runs for the Red Sox (45-41).

Sale (3-8) lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits — including all three homers — with two walks and five strikeouts.

Reliever David Phelps tossed a scoreless frame as Toronto’s opener and Waguespack (1-0), recalled from triple-A Buffalo earlier in the day, followed. He allowed three runs and six hits with four strikeouts and left the game after giving up a lead-off single to Vazquez in the seventh.

Sale came into the game with a 2.81 career ERA against the Blue Jays, second lowest among active pitchers behind teammate David Price (2.37), who won the series opener on Tuesday. But the hard-throwing left-hander hasn’t fared well against Toronto this year, pitching to an 8.00 ERA over his three starts.

Devers put Boston up 2-0 with a two-run single off Waguespack in the third inning before Gurriel’s solo shot trimmed the lead in the bottom of the frame. Gurriel has at least a hit in 10 of his last 11 games and leads the American League in home runs (15) since being recalled from triple-A on May 24.

The Red Sox got the run back in the fourth with Vazquez launching his 13th of the season over the centre-field fence for a 3-1 Boston lead, but Jansen replied with a two-run shot off Sale to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.

NOTES: Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley was sent down to triple-A to make room for Waguespack on the roster. … Attendance was 16,883. … The Blue Jays conclude the three-game home series Thursday. Marcus Stroman is scheduled to start for Toronto despite leaving his last outing with an injury.

 

Melissa Couto, The Canadian Press