Pearson continues spring dominance in Blue Jays' loss to Red Sox

Toronto Blue Jays prized pitching prospect Nate Pearson tossed two more scoreless innings on Saturday afternoon in his club’s 5-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla. Photo: Toronto Blue Jays/Twitter (file photo)

March 7, 2020

By Lukas Weese

Canadian Baseball Network

Right-hander Nate Pearson tossed two more scoreless innings on Saturday afternoon in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 5-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla.

The Blue Jays top-rated prospect pitched the fifth and sixth innings and did not give up a hit and struck out three, with one of his fastballs reaching 99 mph. In three outings this spring, Pearson has not surrendered a hit or a run and has fanned nine batters in five innings.

Travis Shaw and Kevin Vicuna recorded the runs for the Blue Jays (6-6) in their third consecutive Grapefruit League loss.

Rafael Devers, Andrew Benintendi, Mitch Moreland, Rusney Castillo and Jantzen Witte crossed the plate for the Red Sox (5-9). Saturday’s win was the first for the Red Sox since their victory over the Atlanta Braves on March 1.

The Red Sox opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when J.D. Martinez hit an RBI-double that brought home Devers. They added another run in the third, when third baseman Bobby Dalbec cracked a line drive hit to the left-field that scored Moreland.

The Blue Jays cut the deficit to one run in the top of the fourth when Shaw belted a home run over the right field wall.

But the Red Sox would respond with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, thanks to Devers’ RBI single up the middle and shortstop Xander Bogaerts’ double-play grounder that brought home Benintendi.

Ryder Jones’ RBI double to right in the bottom of the seventh inning scored Witte for the Red Sox fifth run.

The Blue Jays cut the deficit to three runs in the top of the eighth when Vicuna scored on designated hitter Patrick Kivlehan’s ground out to third base. But that would be as close as the Blue Jays would get.

The Red Sox outhit the Blue Jays nine to eight in the contest.

Right-hander Trent Thornton, who’s vying to be the Blue Jays’ fifth starter, pitched 2 2/3 innings to open the game, giving up five hits and two earned runs while recording two strikeouts.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) travelled to Fort Myers as the Blue Jays’ starting third baseman. He only had two at-bats (1-for-2), before exiting the game. According to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, Guerrero Jr. did not leave the game due to an injury.

The Blue Jays are back in action on Sunday, hosting the Philadelphia Phillies at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Fla.