The Boston Red Sox triumphed over the Toronto Blue Jays in a 7-0 victory on Thursday afternoon. Left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle pitched a stellar eight innings, allowing only two hits. Caleb Durbin sealed the win with an eighth-inning grand slam, his 12th home run of the season. This win helped the Red Sox (65-56) salvage one victory in the four-game series.
Despite the loss, the Blue Jays have won 11 of their last 17 games, bringing them closer to securing the American League’s third wild-card spot. The series against the Red Sox was a positive start in Toronto’s upcoming 10-game stretch against the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
The Red Sox have now won the last seven games started by Tolle. In a game attended by 43,442 fans at Rogers Centre, Tolle (8-6) delivered a strong performance, allowing only two hits, two walks, and striking out four batters.
Max Scherzer, a veteran starter for the Toronto Blue Jays, reached a career milestone by pitching 3,000 innings in Major League Baseball history. Despite this achievement, Scherzer (1-5) expressed disappointment as it came in a loss. He faced various injuries early in the season, including an inflamed left ankle, back spasms, and right forearm tendinitis, which affected his performance.
The Red Sox took an early lead in the first inning and secured two more runs in the ninth to seal the victory. In other news, the Blue Jays’ Andres Gimenez’s hit streak came to an end, while the Red Sox recorded their most losses against any team in 2026 with a 4-9 season series record against Toronto.
The key moment in the game was when the Red Sox loaded the bases with two outs, but Scherzer managed to end the threat by inducing a right-field fly. Despite a recent losing streak, the Red Sox have the best record in MLB since the trade deadline at 19-8.
Shane Bieber (3-2) of the Toronto Blue Jays is set to face Gerrit Cole (6-5) of the New York Yankees in the upcoming three-game series at home.