The Toronto Blue Jays didn’t wait long to find their groove after the All-Star break. They put on an offensive clinic on Friday night, defeating the Boston Red Sox 28-5.
Left fielder Raimel Tapia put on a show, going 3-for-7 at the plate with six RBIs and a grand slam. That home run 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 Blue 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 tough night. Brady, of course, has a history of epic comebacks, most notably rallying from a 25-point deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. Unlike Brady, though, the Red Sox didn’t have as much magic on Friday night.
History was made in this game, for both good and bad, 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: Toronto’s 28 runs scored on Friday were the most in franchise history. He eclipsed the previous mark of 24 on June 26, 1978 against the Baltimore Orioles. For the Red Sox, it marked the most runs allowed in any game in franchise history. That record stood for nearly a century: the Cleveland Guardians scored 27 against Boston on July 17, 1923.
To put this offensive rush in perspective, Friday was game 8,744 at Fenway Park. The Blue Jays scored more runs there than any road 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 it four other times, most recently in 2021 against the Orioles.
25: On Friday, the Blue Jays finished 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 had 29 hits against Boston, the most in a game in team history. He topped out a 25-hit performance in a 19-4 victory against the Texas Rangers on August 9, 1999. All nine starters each recorded at least two hits and two runs scored, and the Jays became only the second team since 1900 in doing it (1979 Los Angeles Angels).
19: In two-out scenarios, the Blue Jays still found ways to put runs on the board: 19 of Toronto’s 28 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 Aug. 21, 1986.
6: Gurriel had one game, going 6-for-7 with five RBIs and three runs. His six hits tied Frank Catalanotto (2004) for the most in team history.
