Red Sox Rally for 6-4 Win Over Blue Jays After Blowing 4-0 Lead

Q: Is Anthony Seigler’s breakout the hidden engine of Boston’s 20-3 run, or just the latest spark in a team-wide surge?

Anthony Seigler looks more like a catalyst within a broader team surge than the single hidden engine of Boston’s 20-3 run. He has clearly become one of the most important symbols of the turnaround. Since returning on June 20, he has filled an injury-created void in the middle infield, taken over leadoff duties, and given Boston quality at-bats and visible energy. Chad Tracy has called him a major reason for the surge, and Patrick Sandoval’s “spark plug” label fits the role he played again Friday with a leadoff homer, a 4-for-5 night and an insurance RBI double. In his 27 starts, Boston has won 20 times, which is hard to dismiss. But the evidence points to a bigger foundation beneath Seigler’s breakout. Boston’s run has been built heavily on pitching depth and run prevention. During the streak, the Red Sox have ranked among MLB’s best in ERA, WHIP, opponents’ average and bullpen effectiveness. Their rotation has held up despite injuries, and the bullpen has consistently protected leads. Offensively, this has also been a collective rise: Caleb Durbin has been central, Ceddanne Rafaela has delivered steady production, Romy González supplied a decisive pinch-hit double Friday, and the lineup as a whole has taken better at-bats and found more ways to score. So Seigler is not just the latest random hot hand. He has become a real driver of momentum and lineup stability. But Boston’s revival is too broad, too pitching-centered and too deep to pin on one player alone.

3 articles · Updated · Over The Monster · Jul 25

Boston restored a 6-4 lead in the eighth with four straight hits after Toronto erased a 4-0 deficit across the seventh and eighth innings.
Anthony Seigler drove the offense with a 4-for-5 night, a homer, two RBIs and two runs, while Ceddanne Rafaela also homered and knocked in two.
Patrick Sandoval lasted 4.2 innings without an earned run despite repeated traffic, and Toronto starter Trey Yesavage struck out nine but needed 93 pitches to get through four innings.
Greg Weissert surrendered Kazuma Okamoto’s three-run homer and Garrett Whitlock allowed the tying run, but Aroldis Chapman struck out two in the ninth to seal it.
The win started a new streak for a Red Sox club that has kept surging, again showing it can survive bullpen trouble during its recent hot run.