Takeaways: Boston Red Sox Drop Final Game, Series Against Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 In Finale

The Boston Red Sox were sat down consistently by Toronto Blue Jays pitching and despite a good showing from Kutter Crawford, they couldn't grind out a win.

They lose the rare five-game series 3-2 and drop the final game 2-0 as they move back to 3.5 games outside of a playoff spot.

What are the main takeaways from Boston's game-five loss to Toronto?

Kutter Crawford held Toronto in check

Kutter Crawford, despite allowing two unfortunate two-out runs, was extremely effective for Boston tonight. The righty tossed a solid 6.2 innings allowing just six hits, two runs, and striking out three. The offense gave him zero run support but Crawford was exactly what the team needed him to be.

His arsenal looked much better than it has during his recent home run-riddled starts and he was able to keep Toronto hitters off balance for most of the night. His only runs came on perfectly placed doubles (with the help of the sky in some cases) by Brian Serven followed by RBI hits.

The Red Sox offense was utterly dominated

Coming off a start where he came just an inning away from throwing a no-hitter, Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis had his way with the Boston lineup in another shutdown outing. The young hurler shut down the Red Sox for seven scoreless innings and surrendered just one hit.

Boston's offense had some good moments in their two mid-series wins, but today it wasn't nice. With tons of weak contact, missing hittable pitches, and popping up seemingly everything, they never gave the team a chance to win.

The return of Rich Hill

The ageless wonder, 44-year-old Rich Hill made his return to the Red Sox tonight once again and carved up the four Blue Jays batters he faced. Topping out at 87 MPH with his sinker and getting as low as 69 MPH with his sweeper, the sturdy veteran turned back the clock in his first appearance of 2024.

Hill's role with the team for the last month of the season is still unclear but if he's able to continue performing as he did tonight he will be a welcome addition and key piece in the Boston staff.

The Red Sox are now 69-64 on the season.

Game 1

The first game of the Boston Red Sox series against the Detroit Tigers is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 6:40 PM EST at Comerica Park, televised on NESN.