The Toronto Blue Jays didn’t wait long to find their groove after the All-Star break. They put on an offensive clinic Friday night, defeating the Boston Red Sox 28-5.
Left fielder Raimel Tapia put on a show, finishing 3-for-7 at the plate with six RBIs and a grand slam. That homer was an inside-the-park job — the second in Blue Jays franchise history. It’s the first inside-the-park grand slam in MLB since Michael A. Taylor did it for the Washington Nationals in 2017.
The fifth inning was where the Jays did most of their damage, scoring 11 runs in that frame. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who played his first 20 seasons for the New England Patriots, took note of Boston’s rough night. Brady, of course, has a history of epic comebacks, notably coming back from 25 points down to beat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. Unlike Brady, however, the Red Sox did not have such magic Friday night.
Gonna be a hell of a story @Edelman11! https://t.co/2hQfw6ns5l
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) July 23, 2022
History, both good and bad, was made in this game for both Boston and Toronto.
The Blue Jays scored the most runs against the Red Sox in nearly 100 years. Here’s a look at some of the other numbers:
28: The 28 runs scored by Toronto on Friday were the most in franchise history. It eclipsed the previous mark of 24 on June 26, 1978, against the Baltimore Orioles. For the Red Sox, it set the mark for the most runs allowed in any game in franchise history. That record had stood for nearly a century — the Cleveland Guardians scored 27 against Boston on July 17, 1923.
To put this offensive onslaught into perspective, Friday was the 8,744th game at Fenway Park. The Blue Jays scored more runs there than any visiting team before them.
11: The 11 runs Toronto scored in the fifth tied a franchise record for most in a single inning. The Blue Jays have done that four other times, most recently in 2021 against the Orioles.
25: On Friday, the Jays exited the fifth inning with 25 total runs, tied for the most by an MLB team through five innings since 1900 (1922 Cubs).
5: For the first time in Blue Jays history, three different players had at least five RBIs (Tapia, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Danny Jansen).
29: Toronto notched 29 hits against Boston, the most in a game in team history. It surpassed a 25-hit performance in a 19-4 victory against the Texas Rangers on August 9, 1999. All nine starters logged at least two hits and two runs scored each, as the Jays became the second team since 1900 to do so (1979 Los Angeles Angels).
19: In two-out scenarios, the Blue Jays still found ways to put runs on the board — 19 of the 28 Toronto runs came with two outs. That’s the most two-out runs a team has scored since the Red Sox scored 22 such runs on August 21, 1986.
6: Gurriel had himself a game, going 6-for-7 with five RBIs and three runs. His six hits tied Frank Catalanotto (2004) for the most in team history.
ESPN Stats & Information research contributed to this story.
Source: www.espn.com