The number that mattered most Tuesday night at Fenway Park was 300. George Springer reached that career home run milestone in the ninth inning, a two-run shot to left center that capped a 6-1 Toronto Blue Jays victory over the Boston Red Sox before 32,392 fans.
Dylan Cease was the story before Springer wrote the final line. The right-hander worked five innings, allowing no runs on four hits while striking out seven and walking four on 108 pitches. He picked up his fourth win against three losses, carrying a 2.71 ERA. Louie Varland closed it out, striking out three over 1.1 innings for his 13th save of the season.
Toronto built the lead methodically. Springer's sacrifice fly to right in the third scored Andres Gimenez to open the scoring. The fifth inning brought two home runs: Davis Schneider sent one 419 feet to left, then Gimenez followed with a 413-foot shot to center. Schneider added a run-scoring double to center in the sixth, scoring Kazuma Okamoto. Then came the ninth — Springer's 438-foot drive to left center brought Myles Straw home and put the final margin in place. Springer finished 2-for-3 with a walk, a run scored, and three RBI. Schneider went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and two RBI. Gimenez was 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored.
Payton Tolle absorbed the loss, falling to 3-4. He allowed 3 runs on four hits over five innings, striking out six while walking two on 90 pitches. Boston's lone run came on Jarren Duran's 445-foot home run to center in the eighth, his 12th of the season. The Red Sox finished with eight hits but could not solve Cease while he was on the mound.
Springer's 300th career home run came in this game, a milestone he reached in his seventh season with Toronto. He is also 4 games away from 1,500 career games played. Boston dropped to 29-40 with the loss. Toronto, despite the win, remained at 34-38 after snapping a two-game losing streak.