The last time Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease faced the Boston Red Sox, he pitched a one-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts.
Toronto would enjoy seeing a repeat performance on Tuesday of that July 25 result, a Blue Jays 6-0 victory in Boston.
The Red Sox will not be so eager to face Cease (7-5, 2.28 ERA) for the fourth time this season.
The 30-year-old veteran is 2-1 with a 1.83 ERA in three starts against Boston this season. He is 3-2 with a 4.31 ERA in nine career starts vs. the Red Sox.
After being the hottest team in baseball recently, the Red Sox have dropped three in a row following a 2-1 road loss to the Blue Jays on Monday in the opener of a four-game series. Toronto is 7-3 against Boston this season.
The Red Sox are scheduled to start left-hander Patrick Sandoval (1-0, 3.38 ERA) on Tuesday. He is 0-0 with a 3.95 ERA in three career starts against the Blue Jays. Sandoval allowed no runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings during his only outing against Toronto this year, a no-decision in a 6-4 Boston win on July 24.
The Red Sox are expected to activate catcher Adley Rutschman from the injured list on Tuesday for his team debut. He has been out since mid-July due to left wrist inflammation, and he was obtained in a deal with the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline on Aug. 3.
The three-time All-Star caught Sandoval’s bullpen session on Monday and took batting practice.
“Just trying to learn as much as I can about the guys, about the pitching staff, making sure that when it is my time, when I’m ready to go, I’m doing the best I can for those guys,” he said.
The Blue Jays got good use from a couple of their own recent recruits on Monday.
Charles McAdoo, who played third base when Kazuma Okamoto was scratched due to a bruised left knee, hit a solo home run. McAdoo was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo on Monday as was right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson, who pitched three innings of one-run relief to earn the win.
Outfielder Davis Schneider and right-handed reliever Lazaro Estrada were optioned to Buffalo.
The Blue Jays wound up needing Woods Richardson right away because starter Jameson Taillon left after four innings.
“(Taillon) said his forearm was a little tight getting some extension on cutters and sliders,” Toronto manager John Schneider said of the right-hander who was making his home debut for his new team. “For a guy with an injury history, hopefully we can be proactive and I don’t want to take any chances with him. He’s going to get an MRI.”
Boston looked confused all night at the plate, and in the seventh inning, on the bases.
Ceddanne Rafaela hit a one-out fly to center in the seventh with Anthony Seigler and Nick Sogard at the corners. The scoreboard incorrectly showed two outs, and the runners took off as if they thought there were two outs. Sogard was eventually doubled up at first after Seigler crossed home plate without tagging up.
After a 15-minute delay and a review from New York, it was ruled that Seigler’s run would count because he touched the plate before the third out was recorded and the Blue Jays did not throw to third on an appeal play. They had already left the field.
The bizarre sequence might have been a consequence of the previous at-bat, when Sogard hit a low line drive that Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grabbed after it bounced and threw to second base for a forceout. The press box initially announced that Sogard hit into a double play.
“We’ve got to know there’s one out, regardless of what’s on the board or not,” Boston interim manager Chad Tracy said. “Yes, it was a very weird situation where players on both sides appeared to be confused on the outs.”
–Field Level Media
