Blue Jays Shut Out Red Sox 3-0 After Scherzer Injured

The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-0 on Wednesday night in Boston after placing scheduled starter Max Scherzer on the 10-day injured list due to back spasms. The 41-year-old right-hander was sidelined for the second time this season, prompting the Blue Jays to turn to a seven-pitcher pitching strategy that proved effective in limiting the Red Sox offense.

Andrés Giménez led Toronto's offensive effort with two hits, one RBI, and three stolen bases, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. contributed two runs batted in. The Blue Jays scored two runs in the third inning when Davis Schneider led off with a double and Giménez followed with a single; the two later executed a double steal before Guerrero's groundout extended the lead to 2-0. Giménez added the final run in the eighth inning with another single and stolen base, scoring on Guerrero's subsequent single.

Braydon Fisher recorded the first four outs for Toronto before Simeon Woods Richardson, acquired by the Blue Jays on June 3 after posting a 0-7 record with the Minnesota Twins, earned the victory with three scoreless innings. Louis Varland struck out the side in the ninth inning for his 14th save of the season. Toronto stranded 13 baserunners despite the shutout victory, while Boston's offense was completely stymied, going 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position—extending a pattern from their 6-1 loss in the series opener where they managed only 1 for 12 in that situation.

Boston starter Jake Schneider suffered the loss, allowing two runs on three hits over 5⅓ innings while striking out five batters. The Red Sox fell to 12-24 at home, the worst record in Major League Baseball. Boston's record when trailing by two or more runs dropped to 1-39 on the season, and the team has now lost three consecutive games.

The Blue Jays and Red Sox are scheduled to continue their series on Thursday with Toronto's Trey Yesavage (3-3, 3.78 ERA) facing Boston's Sonny Gray (8-1, 3.03 ERA).