Ranger Suarez returns, Red Sox cap homestand with series win over Blue Jays

Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald on Jul 26, 2026

Published in Baseball

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BOSTON — A tall order greeted the Boston Red Sox when they emerged from the All-Star break last week.

After riding into the break on a perfect 9-0 road trip, the Red Sox had to open the second half of the season with 10 games against American League East rivals who whalloped them in prior meetings, and at Fenway, where they had compiled a dismal 17-27 record in the first half.

On Sunday, the Red Sox capped off a stunningly strong homestand with a 6-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. They went 8-2 over the 10 games against the Tampa Bay Rays (4-0), Baltimore Orioles (2-1) and Blue Jays (2-1). The Red Sox even extended their win streak to 15, matching the franchise record set in 1946, before finally taking a loss.

Ranger Suarez’s return from the injured list was short compared to most of his outings this year, but sweet. The left-hander, who was forced to miss his second career All-Star Game when he suffered a groin strain in Anaheim, Calif., on July 5, pitched four scoreless frames to start Sunday’s series finale against the Blue Jays.

Suarez’s pitch count would be monitored, interim manager Chad Tracy confirmed pregame, but the southpaw made the most of his 64 pitches (42 for strikes). He held the Blue Jays to four hits, with zero walks and six strikeouts.

Suarez’s teammates welcomed him back with run support. Fresh off being one-hit in a complete-game shutout by Dylan Cease the afternoon before, the Red Sox tagged Kevin Gausman for three earned runs on five hits. Gausman walked one and struck out six in six innings, on 98 pitches (66 for strikes).

Boston played small-ball to great effect throughout, tallying as many as three sacrifice hits in a contest for the first time since Sept. 4, 2021, and Sept. 16, 1993.

The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the third when Andruw Monasterio led off with a single, advanced to second on Carlos Narvaez’s sacrifice bunt, to third on Masataka Yoshida’s groundout, and scored on Ceddanne Rafaela’s RBI single up the right-field line.

They ran it back in the fourth. Willson Contreras led off with a walk and Caleb Durbin followed with a single. The two advanced to third and second, respectively, on Romy Gonzalez’s sac-bunt, and scored on Jarren Duran’s two-run single to center.

Gausman recovered, finishing his afternoon with a pair of 1-2-3 innings, but the Red Sox pounced on the Blue Jays bullpen as soon as he departed. Duran greeted Braydon Fisher with a single and steal of second, and Monasterio joined him with a walk. Narváez’s second sac-bunt of the afternoon advanced both men and forced the Blue Jays to make a second pitching change.

Toronto went to a lefty, so Boston went to a lefty specialist. Pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones greeted Brendon Little with a two-run double to deep center, then stole third base for good measure. Wilyer Abreu’s 22nd double of the season clanged off the Monster, and Jones came home.

Like Suarez, the Boston bullpen spent some time weaving in and out of traffic. Right-hander Greg Weissert worked around shortstop Andrés Giménez’s one-out single to pitch a four-batter fifth inning. Flamethrowing righty Tyron Guerrero completed a scoreless sixth despite giving up a one-out single to catcher Alejandro Kirk and issuing a two-out walk to center fielder Daulton Varsho.

After a perfect seventh inning by Justin Slaten, rookie righty Ryan Watson took the ball for the final two frames. Toronto managed to score in the top of the ninth; Varsho led off with a single, advanced to third on Ernie Clement’s one-out ground-rule double, and touched home on Gimenez’s RBI single.

That was all the Blue Jays could muster. The Red Sox, it seems, are done being pushed around in their own house.

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