Brett Bateman delivers twice as Blue Jays rally past Red Sox
Brett Bateman made an impressive mark in his early major-league career, contributing significantly to the Toronto Blue Jays’ 5-3 comeback victory over the Boston Red Sox. Bateman drove in two game-tying runs and is performing well with runners in scoring position, helping the team secure crucial wins in recent games.
Photo: Zachary Rubio-Paret / VM Sports
TORONTO — Only five games into his major-league career, Brett Bateman is already showing an ability to deliver when the Toronto Blue Jays need it most.
Bateman drove in a pair of game-tying runs Tuesday night at Rogers Centre, helping the Blue Jays erase multiple deficits before securing a 5-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The rookie finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI as Toronto earned its 27th comeback win of the season.
Toronto has now won five of its last seven games and improved to 8-3 against Boston this season.
The Red Sox opened the scoring in the third inning when Ceddanne Rafaela brought home a run with a sacrifice fly. Their lead did not survive the bottom half of the inning.
Bateman stepped in against Boston left-hander Patrick Sandoval and drove an RBI double into the gap in left-centre field, tying the game at 1-1. It was his second double in the majors and his first career game-tying RBI.
Boston regained the advantage an inning later. Wilyer Abreu connected on a slider from Dylan Cease and sent it over the wall in right-centre field for his 21st home run of the season. Rafaela then added a solo shot on the first pitch of the fifth, extending the Red Sox lead to 3-1.
Brett Bateman delivers twice as Blue Jays rally past Red Sox
Once again, the Blue Jays responded. Toronto scored twice in the bottom of the fifth, with Bateman producing the decisive swing of the inning. His RBI single brought the Blue Jays level at 3-3 and gave the rookie his second game-tying hit of the night.
Bateman has quickly made an impression in run-scoring situations. He is now 5-for-8 with a double and three RBI with runners in scoring position since reaching the majors. Through his first five games, the 21-year-old is batting .273 with six hits, two doubles, three RBI, two runs and two walks.
Toronto moved ahead for the first time in the sixth, with Ernie Clement driving in the go-ahead run. Myles Straw then provided some breathing room in the eighth, sending an RBI double into left field to complete the scoring.
Straw finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, recording his 11th multi-hit performance of the season. He is batting .289 with six doubles, a triple and an .808 OPS across his last 10 starts.
Cease did not have his sharpest line of the season, but he continued to miss bats at an elite rate. The right-hander allowed three runs on five hits and four walks over five innings, striking out seven.
He generated 17 swings and misses, bringing his season total to an American League-leading 363. Cease also increased his strikeout total to 191, the most in the AL at the end of Tuesday’s game and one shy of Roger Clemens’ franchise record through a pitcher’s first 23 starts of a season.
After Cease departed, Toronto’s bullpen shut down Boston over the final four innings. Chase Lee, Brendon Little, Braydon Fisher and Spencer Miles combined to keep the Red Sox off the scoreboard, protecting the narrow advantage created by the Blue Jays’ comeback.
Miles handled the ninth and worked around a hit to earn the first save of his major-league career. He has posted a 1.89 ERA over 62 innings as a reliever this season.
Alejandro Kirk also reached base three times, going 2-for-3 with a walk, while Andrés Giménez extended his hitting streak to six games with a fifth-inning single. Giménez is batting .375 with seven RBI during that stretch.
Toronto improved to 30-31 at Rogers Centre and has won 12 of its last 19 games. More importantly, Bateman’s early production has given the Blue Jays another young contributor capable of changing a game when an opportunity arrives.
