It’s always nice to see the Toronto Blue Jays get a win over a divisional rival, even if it’s Spring Training.
On Thursday afternoon, the Blue Jays hosted the Boston Red Sox in Dunedin, defeating them 7-4 to move their Spring Training record to 7-4-1.
The Red Sox took the lead in the top of the first as Carlos Narvaez hit a single to score Vaughn Grissom. However, the Blue Jays tied the game in the next half inning as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a double to drive in Bo Bichette.
Like yesterday, the Blue Jays went back-to-back. In his first plate appearance since being hit in the face with the ball, Ernie Clement hit a two-run home run, his first Spring Training home run of the season.
Up next was Davis Schneider, who also hit his first home run of the season to bring the Blue Jays lead to 4-1. The Red Sox added another run in the top of the third to cut the Blue Jays’ lead in half.
In the bottom of the third, Bo Bichette hit another single to drive in Clement to give the Jays a 5-2 lead, which ended up being the game-winning run. Mikey Romero of the Boston Red Sox hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth to make it 5-3.
The Blue Jays added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth as Alejandro Kirk just missed hitting a home run by inches. It ended up being a long single that scored Anthony Santander. Davis Schneider scored George Springer with a single. The Red Sox added a run in the top of the seventh, but it was too late.

Takeaways…

If Spring Training is any indication, Bo Bichette is going to have a bounce-back year. On Thursday, he went 3-4 with an RBI and three singles to bring his batting average to .364. The Blue Jays need Bichette to rebound if they have any aspirations of contending this season.
Alan Roden could make the Opening Day roster out of Spring Training – that’s how good he’s playing right now. Although he went 0-1 today (after yesterday’s home run), he made a nice catch out in left field.
Toronto finished with 11 hits, with Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider hitting home runs. Myles Straw and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit doubles, while Bichette hit three singles. Other players with a single were Steward Berroa, Alejandro Kirk, and Schneider, who went 2-2 with a walk.
Chris Bassitt made his second start of Spring Training, and on paper, it wasn’t great as he finished with a line of 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. However, he noted on the broadcast during an interview he was trying to throw pitches he’d throw to left-handed pitchers to right-handed pitchers in this game. I wouldn’t think too much about his performance today.
Making his Blue Jays debut was Nick Sandlin, who gave up a home run and another hit in his inning of work, but struck out a batter. Zach Pop also gave up an earned run in his inning of work. Kevin Gowdy threw a scoreless two-thirds of an inning.
The other relievers the Blue Jays used had good days. Yimi García and Chad Green each pitched an inning with two strikeouts, as did Mason Fluharty. Andrew Bash picked up the save, striking out three batters, and allowing a hit and a walk in his inning of work.
Toronto returns to action on Friday, as they head to George M. Steinbrenner Field to face off against the New York Yankees. It will be an evening game, starting at 6:35 PM ET with Yariel Rodríguez on the bump for the Jays and Marcus Stroman on the mound for the Yankees.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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