Blue Jays claw out series victory against slumping, tired Red Sox

In the season’s penultimate homestand, the Blue Jays, forever varying their lineups and defensive alignments, hosted the lowly and, now Dombrowski-less, Red Sox in a semi-meaningless three-game set this week at Rogers Centre. Though there were definitely some gaffes for the boys in blue, they played an overall solid set, taking two of three from their division rivals and heading into their next series on a winning note.

Here’s a quick look at the good, the bad, and the weird from a (somewhat) undersold series at Rogers Centre:

Bo Bichette (3-for-13, 2 R, 2B, BB, SB) was quietly, albeit minorly, productive, while Cavan Biggio (6-for-10, 6 R, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB, SB) had an outstanding set at the dish. Randal Grichuk (4-for-12, R, 3 2B, 2 RBI) was consistently a force to be reckoned with, while Teoscar Hernandez (2-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Danny Jansen (2-for-4, R), Reese McGuire (2-for-5, R, HR, RBI, 3 BB), and Rowdy Tellez (3-for-12, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI) all showed up.

On the mound, Trent Thornton (5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, BB, 7 SO, W) was tremendous in his outing, following opener Wilmer Font (2.0 IP, H, 0 R/ER, 2 SO), who was solid in his own right. Elsewhere on the staff, Jason Adam (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER), Ken Giles (1.0 IP, H, 0 R/ER, BB, 2 SO, SV), Derek Law (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER), Tim Mayza (0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER), and Thomas Pannone (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 2 SO) pitched solidly in relief. Ryan Tepera (1.0 IP, H, 0 R/ER) also pitched well in a single inning of work.

Jonathan Davis (1-for-7, 3 SO) was hapless at the plate, with Justin Smoak (1-for-8, R, BB, 3 SO) continuing to struggle, batting just .095 in 21 at-bats in the month of September. In the field, Derek Fisher (0-for-4, RBI, 2 BB, SO) and Anthony Alford (1-for-2, 1 TB) both had their fair share of troubles, hampering the team immensely in the series finale.

Clay Buchholz (4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R/ER, BB, 4 SO, L) struggled against his former team, as did Jordan Romano (0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, ER, SO). Finally, T.J. Zeuch (4.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R/ER, HR, 3 BB, SO) was hammered in his second major-league outing.

In an unbelievable factoid communicated by Sportsnet’s Mike Wilner on Wednesday’s radio broadcast, the Blue Jays did not have a sacrifice fly throughout the entire month of August. Wilner also notes that the Blue Jays have three sac-flies in the month of September, and we’re all but a third of the way through the month. Oh, and Clay Buchholz teaching Trent Thornton how to grip a changeup (and eventually dominating the Red Sox using that very same grip) is also worth relaying.

The big, bad New York Yankees (95-51) come to town Friday to begin a three-game series against the Blue Jays. Though neither team has announced starters for the series, it’s likely that Anthony Kay (0-0, 3.18 ERA, 8 SO), Jacob Waguespack (4-4, 4.55 ERA, 48 SO), and T.J. Zeuch (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 5 SO) will all make appearances for the Blue Jays, while James Paxton (13-6, 3.96 ERA, 175 SO) and Masahiro Tanaka (10-8, 4.53 ERA, 135 SO) should take the hill for New York.