The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Boston Red Sox, 28-5, (box score) on Friday night, and both clubs established franchise records for runs scored and allowed. The Blue Jays also tied for the fifth-most runs plated in a Major League Baseball regular-season contest since 1901, according to Baseball Reference.
The modern record still belongs to the 2007 Texas Rangers, who defeated the Baltimore Orioles by a 30-3 mark on August 22, 2007. Nevertheless, the Blue Jays gave those Rangers a run for their money. Indeed, Toronto did much of its damage during an 11-run fifth inning that saw the Blue Jays extend their lead from 14-3 to 25-3.
Here’s four other things to know about Friday night’s biggest boat race.
1. Gurriel ties record with six hits
Left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was one of Toronto’s standout performers on Friday. He went 6-for-7 on the night, tying the Blue Jays’ franchise record for the most hits in a single game. Frank Catalanotto had also notched six hits in 2004.
Gurriel also made himself a fruit cocktail during the game:
Gurriel drove in five runs on his six hits, with five of those coming as singles. He also delivered his 24th double of the season. Believe it or not — and given the final score, it’s fairly believable — Gurriel did not lead the Blue Jays in runs batted in on Friday. That honor was instead shared by Danny Jansen, who homered twice, and Raimel Tapia, who each drove in six.
2. Tapia records inside-the-park grand slam
You read that correctly. Tapia recorded the first inside-the-park grand slam in the majors since Michael A. Taylor did it in 2017. Truth be told, Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran deserves plenty of credit for what could be called defensive indifference, as Duran lost the ball in the sky and then seemed to give up on the play.
Here’s the play:
You can read more about Tapia’s effort by clicking here.
3. Blue Jays enjoy total-team effort
We’ve mentioned Gurriel, Jansen, and Tapia, but make no mistake: the Blue Jays as a team were wearing their hitting shoes on Friday night. To wit, every Blue Jays hitter in the starting lineup notched at least two hits, and seven of the nine had at least three hits.
In addition to Jansen’s two home runs and Tapia’s inside-the-park job, the Blue Jays also saw Matt Chapman and Teoscar Hernandez tee off.
Toronto’s 29 hits tied those aforementioned 2007 Rangers for the sixth-most since 1901. No team has recorded more than 29 hits since 1992, when the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Blue Jays, 22-2. The Brewers tallied 31 hits, with just one of those clearing the fences.
4. Horrid Red Sox stretch continues
We don’t want to belabor how poorly the Red Sox performed on Friday night because the score speaks for itself, but we will highlight how Boston has now dropped three consecutive games in blowout fashion.
Prior to the All-Star Game, the Red Sox dropped two consecutive boat races against the New York Yankees: the first by a count of 14-1, the second by score of a 13-2. Factor in Friday night’s drubbing, and the Red Sox have now been outscored 55-8 in their last three contests.
That minus-47 run differential is the worst in modern history, according to ESPN Stats & Info, and the worst overall since 1894. It’s fair to say that’s not how Chaim Bloom, Alex Cora and crew wanted their team to be playing just a week-plus away from the trade deadline.