Blue Jays’ Berrios gives up 3 home runs in shutout loss to Red Sox

The Blue Jays have a winning record against every division in Major League Baseball this season. Except their own.

Jarren Duran had a two-run homer and Masataka Yoshida a solo shot in the sixth inning as the visiting Boston Red Sox beat Toronto 5-0 on Friday. The Blue Jays are now 7-18 against their rivals in the American League East, including dropping all five games this year to Boston.

“I can’t explain that,” said Toronto starting pitcher Jose Berrios. “I don’t think ‘oh, we’re playing against a divisional team.’ I get the feeling we’re going to be playing a Major League Baseball game tonight and we have to give 100 percent.

“I’m doing my best to help us win. I don’t know why we don’t play so well against the American League East division. That’s baseball.”

Berrios (8-6) gave up four runs on five hits despite striking out eight and no walks for six innings for the Blue Jays (45-38). He thought he gave up the home runs to Duran and Yoshida because he was getting predictable.

“Like I said, baseball is baseball. Nothing is easy,” said Berrios. “We battled with their four big hitters, but by the sixth inning it was third, so I got predictable and we used up a lot of substitutions and fastballs away.

Relievers Trent Thornton and Mitch White came on after Berrios and gave up a run over three innings.

Justin Turner’s home run opened the scoring as Boston (41-42) snapped a five-game losing skid. He drove in another run later in the game with a sacrifice fly.

James Paxton (4-1) of Ladner, BC, was stellar for the Red Sox, striking out seven in 7 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up only three hits before Chris Martin and Kaleb Ort came out of the bullpen.

“There comes a point where you have to look at who you’re playing against and say, ‘Okay, these games are a little bit more important,'” said Toronto manager John Schneider. “It’s not putting pressure on the guys, it’s not trying harder or anything like that.

“But there comes a point, and we’re probably there, when it’s really important to win this series.”

Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. rallied the 37,218 spectators at Rogers Center in the first inning when he sent a flyball into deep center field. Duran caught the ball just over the outfield wall, bending and yelling after making the run-saving grab.

Turner led off the fifth with a home run. Turner’s 12th of the season traveled 110 yards into the Blue Jays’ bullpen.

Both Berrios and Paxton were humming until Turner’s home run, with the first four innings of the game lasting less than an hour.

Berrios continued to struggle in the sixth, giving up three runs in quick succession.

Two batters later, Yoshida hit his ninth homer of the season to make it 4–0 for Boston. That blast also came from a change, this time going 444 feet into deep right field.

Turner scored another run in the eighth with a sacrifice fly and Alex Verdugo scored for a 5-0 lead.

Yusei Kikuchi (7-2) gets the start as Toronto continues its three-game streak with the Red Sox.

Boston sends Kutter Crawford (2-4) to the mound for the matinee.