Umpire Marvin Hudson yells at Jays’ Josh Donaldson after throwing him out of the game for arguing a strike call during the 18th inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston early Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017.Winslow Townson/The Associated Press
The Red Sox won their own version of the Boston marathon, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 in the 19th inning on an RBI single by Hanley Ramirez early Wednesday in a game that took six hours.
It was 1:11 a.m. when Mookie Betts led off with a double and Ramirez followed with a bloop single. The AL East leaders ended a three-game losing streak.
About 700 fans stayed until the end to see Boston win the longest game in the majors since July 2016, when Cleveland beat Toronto 2-1 in 19 innings. The Red Sox forced extra innings by rallying for two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland was 31 years old when his RBI grounder tied it at 2 – he turned 32 when his birthday came at midnight, and celebrated with a win.
This was the second-longest game ever at Fenway, which opened in 1912. The Red Sox lost to Seattle 8-7 in 20 innings in 1981 – that game was suspended after 19 innings past 1 a.m. because of an American League curfew rule, and resumed about 18 hours later.
And this time, the Rolling Stones "19th Nervous Breakdown" played over the stadium sound system when the game went to the 19th.
Boston used 12 pitchers against the Blue Jays, tying an American League record set a day earlier by the Los Angeles Angels.
Hector Velazquez (3-1) picked up the win. Chris Rowley (1-2) lost in his fourth inning of relief. Red Sox centre fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. helped save it when he threw out Jose Bautista at the plate to end the top of the 11th, after he tried to score on a flyball.
The Red Sox increased their division lead to 3 1/2 games over New York. But the Yankees still made it a rough day for their longtime rival.
On Tuesday, The New York Times reported the Red Sox admitted to Major League Baseball they used an Apple Watch to steal signals from opposing catchers – including the Yankees – and relay them to Boston players. While swiping signs has long been part of the game, using electronic devices to do it is against the rules.
Kendrys Morales hit his 27th homer for Toronto, which took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Roberto Osuna entered looking for his 36th save, but ended up blowing a chance for the 10th time.
Osuna walked Andrew Benintendi to start the ninth and Betts doubled. Benintendi scored when Ramirez grounded out, which allowed Betts to take third. Moreland then hit a sharp grounder to second that scored Betts.
Morales led off the sixth with a homer off Eduardo Rodriguez for a 2-0 lead.
Toronto starter Marco Estrada held Boston to three hits over seven shutout innings.