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It took everything they had, but the Toronto Blue Jays finally put together the kind of comeback win they’ve been searching for all season. Down 6-0 through five and a half innings, the Blue Jays stormed back with seven unanswered runs — capped off by Alejandro Kirk’s walk-off single in the 10th — to stun the Boston Red Sox 7-6 on Wednesday night at Rogers Centre.
Kirk’s base hit, a liner to left with the bases loaded, gave Toronto its first walk-off of 2025 and helped them even the three-game series at one win apiece. It also marked the first time all year the Blue Jays hit three home runs in a game — a promising offensive sign for a lineup that had underwhelmed to this point.
“We never felt out of it,” Kirk said postgame. “It just took some big swings and staying in it pitch by pitch.”
Those big swings came late. Daulton Varsho’s two-run homer and Kirk’s solo shot in the sixth chased Red Sox starter Lucas Giolito, who had been dominant up until that point in his long-awaited return from injury. Anthony Santander later tied the game with a towering three-run blast off reliever Garrett Whitlock in the seventh.
Blue Jays crawl back to defeat Red Sox in extra innings
Santander’s homer was the turning point, erasing what had been a six-run Boston lead. Toronto’s bullpen locked things down from there. Jeff Hoffman (3-0) earned the win with two clean innings, while Boston reliever Justin Slaten (0-1) took the loss.
The Red Sox had appeared to be in full control early behind Giolito, who was making his first MLB start in over 18 months following elbow surgery and a spring hamstring setback. For six innings, he looked like the pitcher Boston hoped for when they inked him to a two-year, $38.5 million deal — until his command faltered late.
“I thought I pitched well until the sixth,” Giolito said. “But some crucial mistakes there. I’ve got to finish stronger.”
Boston jumped ahead with a chaotic two-run first, highlighted by a Rafael Devers double, a balk, and a no-doubt homer from Alex Bregman. They added four more runs across the second and sixth innings, including a two-run shot from Carlos Narvaez.
But the offense dried up entirely after that. The Red Sox had just one baserunner from the sixth inning on, failing to cash in their ghost runner in the 10th before the Blue Jays walked it off.
“We didn’t put enough pressure on them late,” manager Alex Cora said. “We’ve got to finish games.”
With the win, Toronto improves to 16-13 and remains competitive in a jam-packed AL East. The Red Sox fall to 17-15 after seeing a three-game win streak snapped in gut-wrenching fashion. They’ll now look to bounce back in Thursday’s rubber match, but the Blue Jays proved Wednesday that no lead is safe at Rogers Centre.
