A close game unraveled in a hurry Wednesday night when Boston’s bullpen imploded in the eighth inning, allowing five runs in a 6-4 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
The Red Sox have now lost five straight games for just the second time this season and have dropped consecutive series after winning nine in a row.
This one was tied 1-1 entering the bottom of the eighth before everything fell apart.
Tyron Guerrero, who has been one of Boston’s most dependable relievers, allowed consecutive singles to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Kazuma Okamoto then lifted a soft flare into foul territory near first base that Willson Contreras appeared to have tracked down.
Contreras made the catch more difficult than it needed to be. He turned quickly in an attempt to threaten a throw to second and dropped the ball for an error.
“It looked also like it just drifted back to the right,” interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters. “It’s just a miss. It happens, and you got to move on.”
“I just dropped the ball,” Contreras said. “It’s an error, it’s not the first one I’ve made and it won’t be the last one. Turn the page. Tomorrow is another game.”
Willson Contreras dropped a foul ball that would have been an infield fly rule if fair and Kazuma Okamoto immediately drove in the go-ahead run pic.twitter.com/hndvqzW5df
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 13, 2026
Okamoto made Boston pay almost immediately, lining an RBI single to left. Jarren Duran made a strong throw home, but the runner narrowly beat it to give Toronto a 2-1 lead.
“I was given another chance right there,” Okamoto said through an interpreter postgame. “I was able to regroup. I wanted to at least move the runners over, so I was glad I got the big hit right there.”
After that, things completely unraveled for Guerrero and the Sox.
Guerrero intentionally walked Andrés Giménez to load the bases before walking Ernie Clement after a nine-pitch at-bat, forcing home another run. He was pulled without recording an out.
Alec Gamboa inherited a bases-loaded, nobody-out mess and couldn’t completely stop the bleeding. George Springer lifted a sacrifice fly before Myles Straw ripped a two-run double into the left-center field gap to make it 6-1.
In a matter of minutes, a tie game had turned into a five-run deficit.
Guerrero entered the night with a 2.03 ERA and an impressive 34-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 31 innings. He had been even better recently, posting a 0.99 ERA with 27 strikeouts over his previous 27 appearances.
“It’s baseball,” Guerrero said. “Sometimes that’s what happens. I have been throwing the ball really good since I (got here), and today wasn’t the night.
“Nothing changed on me. I gave it everything that I had tonight. (Expletive) happens.”
He was charged with four earned runs on three hits and two walks without recording an out, ballooning his ERA to 3.19.
After the game, the Red Sox revealed why Garrett Whitlock never entered the game. The setup man was unavailable because of elbow inflammation.
“He’s dealing with a little bit of inflammation in his elbow, so we’ve got to check in and see where we’re at there,” Tracy said of Whitlock. “We’ve got to see how he responds, how he feels tomorrow and we’ll go from there.”
Whitlock, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019 and had his 2024 season cut short by an internal brace procedure, downplayed concerns that he could be facing another significant elbow issue.
“I don’t think there’s anything structurally wrong with it,” Whitlock said. “Obviously, I’m sure there’s probably a lot of inflammation in there. My concern for need of any drastic measures is very low.”
Whitlock said he has not undergone imaging and believes the issue may simply be the result of a heavy workload, including repeatedly getting loose in the bullpen.
Garrett Whitlock was unavailable because he’s dealing with elbow inflammation. Red Sox will check in on him tomorrow.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) August 13, 2026
“We haven’t gotten any imaging or anything,” Whitlock said. “I don’t think… and I hope it doesn’t come to that kind of thing. Been throwing a lot, getting warmed up a lot which has been the big thing. Tightened up on me after warming up last night and we’re just gonna go from there.”
Even after the eighth-inning disaster, the Red Sox didn’t go quietly. Trailing 6-1 entering the ninth, Boston made things uncomfortable for the Blue Jays.
Contreras drew a one-out walk and Wilyer Abreu doubled before Caleb Durbin singled home Contreras. Duran followed with an RBI double to make it 6-3 and suddenly bring the tying run to the plate.
That was enough for Toronto to summon closer Louis Varland.
Andruw Monasterio brought home another run with a sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to two, but Varland got Nick Sogard to ground out to end the game.
Another comeback attempt had fallen short which has become a frustrating theme during Boston’s five-game skid.
The Red Sox have lost those games by a combined 11 runs and have repeatedly given themselves opportunities late, but the plays and big hits that routinely went their way during their remarkable run have suddenly become harder to find.
Long before his costly eighth-inning error, Contreras looked like he might be one of the heroes.
Boston had been held scoreless through four innings by José Soriano before Contreras worked a full count and crushed a curveball 408 feet to tie the game in the fifth. The ball left his bat at 105.9 mph for his team-leading 24th home run.
“We got a big swing from Willson, that was good to see,” Tracy said. “If we can get him going, that turns things. We grinded, the pitching performances on both sides were good.”
The homer was a welcome sight after Contreras had gone deep just once over his previous 18 games. Between being hit in the head by a pitch, dealing with an illness and battling various lower-body issues, the veteran hasn’t appeared completely healthy in recent weeks.
“It’s just baseball, man,” Contreras said. “You play six months of baseball, you’re going to go through ups and downs. I’m not going to be down on myself, because I know baseball is going to be this way. It feels good to connect with one and be able to hit a homer, for sure. You have to find your rhythm, keep having good at-bats and let baseball come to you.”
His 24th homer tied his career high; he hit 24 while with the Cubs back in 2019.
