Guerrero homers, wild-card Blue Jays rout Red Sox 8-0

TORONTO (AP) – Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer homered, Alek Manoah pitched six innings and the playoff-bound Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 8-0 on Friday night.

Raimel Tapia also connected for the Blue Jays, who clinched an AL wild-card berth Thursday when the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles. Toronto had a clubhouse celebration after the game Friday.

Toronto (88-69) leads the AL wild-card race, ahead of Seattle and Tampa Bay. The Blue Jays went 18-10 in September. They’re 14-3 against the Red Sox this season, outsourcing Boston by 56 runs.

Guerrero hit a two-run shot off Canadian-born right-hander Nick Pivetta (10-12) in the third inning, his 31st. Tapia homered off Tyler Danish to begin the sixth, his seventh. Three batters later, Springer hit a three-run homer, his 25th.

Manoah (16-7) allowed two hits, struck out four and walked two, his eighth consecutive start allowing two earned runs or fewer. The right-hander has won his past four decisions, and his ERA of 2.24 is fourth-lowest in the majors.

Manoah didn’t allow a hit through the first four innings, but Abraham Almonte reached on a one-out single in the fifth when Manoah was late breaking for first base on Almonte’s grounder down the first base line. The next two Red Sox batters flied out.

Jarren Duran reached on a bloop single to begin the sixth, but Rafael Devers followed by grounding into a double play.Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi pitched the final three innings for his first career save.

Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette went 2 for 4 with a walk, giving him 48 hits in September. It’s the most ever by a Blue Jays player in a calendar month, breaking Tony Fernandez’s mark of 47 hits in June 1986.

Pivetta allowed four runs, three earned, and six hits in five innings as Boston lost for the first time in four games.

ROSTER MOVES

Boston put unvaccinated RHP Kaleb Ort on the restricted and recalled Duran from Triple-A Worcester. Ort is expected to join the Red Sox in Toronto on Saturday, the first day of October, with the expiration of a Canadian requirement that prevents foreign nationals who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 from entering the country.

ALL OUT EFFORT

Pivetta sprinted off the mound and tried to make a sliding catch near the top of the dugout steps on Whit Merrifield’s foul popup in the second. Pivetta didn’t make the play, but did manage to avoid the steps.

UP NEXT

RHP Brayan Bello (2-7, 4.39 ERA) starts for the Red Sox on Saturday against Blue Jays RHP Ross Stripling (9-4, 3.16 ERA). Bello posted a 1.65 ERA in five September starts.