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Michael Chavis homers in 13th inning as Red Sox edge Blue Jays 6-5

May 22, 2019 | 10:00 PM

TORONTO — Boston’s Michael Chavis hit a solo homer off Jimmy Cordero in the 13th inning as the Red Sox outlasted the plucky Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Wednesday night at Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays forced extras with a ninth-inning rally and tied the game again in the 12th when Rowdy Tellez hit a solo shot after Mookie Betts went deep in the top half of the frame.

Chavis turned on a 1-2 pitch for his 10th homer of the year. Heath Hembree (1-0) worked two innings for the victory and Cordero (0-1) shouldered the loss.

Xander Bogaerts had three of Boston’s 10 hits while Betts walked three times and scored twice.

In the ninth, pinch-hitter Danny Jansen hit a two-out single that brought home Brandon Drury from third base. Drury had reached on a double off Marcus Walden, who blew his first save of the year.

Toronto had a great chance to win in the 10th after loading the bases but Walden got Drury to fly out to deep left field to keep the game tied.

Rafael Devers homered for the third straight game for the Red Sox (26-23), who have won 15 of their last 21 games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Justin Smoak hit solo homers for Toronto (20-29).

The Blue Jays have just six victories in their last 21 games. It will be a short turnaround for both teams as the four-game series wraps with an early afternoon game Thursday.

Tellez, coming off a two-homer, five-RBI effort a night earlier, nearly went deep in the second inning but the ball hit the top of the wall and he was held to a long single. Boston starter Rick Porcello retired the next three Blue Jays in order.

Toronto starter Aaron Sanchez was uneven at times and didn’t help his cause in the third inning. He hit Jackie Bradley Jr., with a pitch, picked up two quick outs, uncorked a wild pitch and then walked Betts to put runners on the corners.

The Red Sox made Sanchez pay with RBI singles from Mitch Moreland and Bogaerts.

The Blue Jays got a run back in the fourth when Guerrero blasted a solo shot that hit the facing of the 200 level. His fifth homer of the season had an impressive exit velocity of 109.9 miles per hour.

Guerrero has ramped up his play after a slow start to the season. He posted a .146 average in his first 11 games but was hitting .375 over his last nine games entering play Wednesday night.

Porcello set down the next eight Blue Jays in order before Guerrero flared a single. The rookie slugger nearly lost his balance as he left the batter’s box and grimaced as he ran down the first-base line.

Guerrero gestured at the team trainer to not bother coming out of the dugout to check on him. He showed some range at third base in the next inning with a nice diving catch on a Sandy Leon bunt attempt.

Both starters worked six innings with Porcello striking out four while allowing three hits and one earned run. Sanchez, who left his previous start early due to a blister, struck out five and gave up two earned runs, four hits and two walks. 

Devers pushed his home run total to six on the season with his eighth-inning shot. It was the first time in his career that he has homered in three straight games.

Smoak answered in the bottom half of the frame with his seventh home run of the year. Tellez now has nine homers on the season and Betts is up to eight.

Toronto outhit Boston 11-10. Announced attendance was 18,285 and the game took four hours 30 minutes to play.

Notes: Blue Jays second baseman Eric Sogard returned after missing two games with a sprained thumb. … Toronto outfielder Billy McKinney came on as a pinch-hitter in the seventh. He has been nursing a sore groin. … Neither team has confirmed its starter for the series finale.

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Foloow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press