Blue Jays Drop a 5-Run Hammer in the 8th, Boston's Skid Hits Five

If you blinked during the eighth inning in Toronto, you missed the whole darn game. The Blue Jays stormed back with a five-run explosion, snatching a 6-4 win and handing the Boston Red Sox a fifth consecutive loss that's starting to smell a lot like a freefall.

Chaos in the 8th

Down to their last few swings? Nope. Toronto stacked the lineup and made Boston pay for every mistake. It all started when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk opened the eighth with back-to-back singles off Tyron Guerrero. Then the baseball gods got involved: Willson Contreras dropped a foul pop off Kazuma Okamoto's bat. Big mistake. Okamoto made it hurt immediately, lining an RBI single to left on the very next pitch.

The Red Sox then handed out free bases like candy — an intentional walk to Andrés Giménez loaded 'em, and another walk to Ernie Clement forced home the go-ahead run. Before Boston could catch its breath, George Springer launched a sac fly and Myles Straw ripped a two-run double to make it 6-1. Ballgame.

Pitching and Power

José Soriano looked sharp in his second Toronto start, allowing just one run on four hits over six frames. Tyler Rogers grabbed the win by working the eighth. But this night belonged to the lineup's sudden knockout punch.

Willson Contreras did his part for Boston, crushing his 24th homer in the fifth to tie it after Ernie Clement's RBI single in the second. But one swing wasn't enough. The Red Sox scraped together three runs in the ninth off Matt Waldron and Louis Varland, but Varland locked it down to notch his 26th save in 27 chances.

What it means

The Blue Jays have now won three straight and 11 of 16, climbing right into the AL wild-card conversation. Boston? They've matched their longest losing streak of the season, and the vibes are not good.

Next up, the Red Sox send lefty Payton Tolle (7-6, 3.20 ERA) against Blue Jays righty Max Scherzer (1-4, 7.25) on Thursday.