Blue Jays’ bats come to life late in beating Boston, as Toronto eyes a series sweep

Jays break open 1-1 tie with five-run eighth inning

Published Aug 12, 2026  •  Last updated 6 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Jose Soriano of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches in the first inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre on August 12, 2026 in Toronto. Photo by Vaughn Ridley /Getty Images

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Jose Soriano looked very much at home in his home debut with the Blue Jays, an outing that began with the right-handed pitcher requiring nine pitches to retire the Boston Red Sox in order.

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Through two innings, Soriano threw a total of 21 pitches, including 16 for strikes.

It’s easy to see why the Jays were willing to part ways with a highly touted prospect in Arjun Nimmala to get Soriano from the L.A. Angels.

Two starts in and a better understanding of Soriano is being created, which only provides the club’s pitching department more of a sample size when it comes to what adjustments are required.

The goal is to pair Soriano with staff ace Dylan Cease, who had a rare off night on Tuesday, at least by his recent elite standards.

After the Blue Jays scored in the second inning, a one-out walk in the top of the third inning allowed the BoSox to have their first runner on base off Soriano.

A fifth-inning leadoff homer by Boston’s Willson Contreras into deep centre field tied the game.

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Soriano defended his position well in the sixth inning when Boston threatened to take the lead, an inning that would see pitching coach Pete Walker pay a mound visit.

Once the final out was recorded, Soriano’s night had ended.

In his debut in Philadelphia, Soriano wasn’t economical in tossing 94 pitches across 4.2 innings.

In his home debut, he needed 90 pitches to complete six innings.

The starting pitching by both clubs was good and the game itself was quite compelling, reminiscent of the series opener when hits were scarce.

Wednesday’s tone dramatically changed in the eighth inning, when the Jays exploded for five runs on six hits.

The Jays’ play of late is reminiscent of last season, when they didn’t beat themselves and played with a competitive spirit opposing teams couldn’t match.

Much like last season, timely hits have suddenly been recorded.

Following their 6-4 win, the Jays will go for the series sweep Thursday.

The more they win, the closer the Jays are to hunting down a playoff spot, which seemed out of reach a few weeks ago.

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Nothing should be taken for granted, even entering the ninth inning with a five-run lead.

The Jays went with reliever Matt Waldron to start the ninth inning, but he wasn’t good.

Louis Varland had to be summoned, one out with runners on second and third after the Red Sox had plated two runs.

A sacrifice fly scored a run before Varland recorded his 26th save of the season.

For the 10th time in their past 14 games, the Jays prevailed. They eye a series sweep against a Boston team that has now lost five in a row after emerging as the hottest team in baseball.

The following are three takeaways on a night four players recorded multi-hit games for the Jays, who improved to 59-63.

ROGERS OVER AND OUT

Blue Jays reliever Tyler Rogers is well known for inducing soft contact, a feature to his pitching that can be problematic.

A soft ground ball became a leadoff hit in the eighth inning.

Typical of Rogers’ ability to generate outs, he promptly retired the Red Sox.

During this recent stretch of solid play by the Jays, the club’s bullpen has exceeded all expectations, Waldron’s appearance notwithstanding.

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In Toronto’s win on Tuesday, Spencer Miles record his first-career save.

On nights when Varland isn’t available, the Jays have used this save-by-committee approach.

GRASPING AT STRAW

When the trade was made that sent Daulton Varsho to Houston, an opening in centre field was created with Myles Straw quickly emerging as the main beneficiary.

Brett Bateman joins the Jays and he looked comfortable in centre as he continues to audition as a potential fourth outfielder down the road.

For now, the most accomplished defender is Straw, who started in centre on Wednesday.

Bateman started in left field.

The kid has looked good and used a bunt single to reach base.

He also got doubled up after Wilyer Abreu made a great sliding catch in right field before throwing to first.

The gaffe didn’t matter when the Jays exploded in the eighth inning, capped off by a two-run double by Straw.

RETURN OF OKAMOTO

In the opening two games of the series, Kazuma Okamoto was a late scratch, the victim of a knee contusion sustained in Philadelphia caused by a foul tip.

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No such concern Wednesday night when Okamoto was back in the starting lineup at DH and batting fifth in the lineup.

He entered Wednesday without recording an extra-base hit in his past 10 games.

It changed in his first at-bat when Okamoto took an inside pitch and sent it into left field for a double. He scored on Ernie Clement’s two-out single.

Of note was the run represented the first time Red Sox starting pitcher Ranger Suarez had yielded an earned run when facing the Jays.

In two previous starts this season, Suarez held the Jays scoreless in a combined 12.0 innings, including an eight-inning outing when Boston first came to town in late April.

Prior to signing with the Red Sox in free agency, Suarez faced the Jays twice across a combined 9.1 innings when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Up Next

Max Scherzer is scheduled to start for the Jays (3:07 p.m. first pitch) one inning shy of a career 3,000, while the Red Sox will counter with Payton Tolle, who recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts across six dominant innings in his last start; Thursday also coincides with the scheduled arrival of veteran reliever Paul Seward, whom the Jays claimed Wednesday off waivers from Arizona; it’s likely Seward will be activated for Friday’s series opener against the New York Yankees.

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