TORONTO — It was only the seventh game of a 162-game season, but the Toronto Blue Jays needed to play a good one on Sunday.
They did.
The Blue Jays shut out the Red Sox 3-0 to end a four-game losing streak. The victory included seven strong innings from right-hander Marco Estrada, fine defense particularly in the third inning when second baseman Ryan Goins gunned a relay to home plate that snuffed out a potential run, and a homer by Josh Donaldson.
Toronto also averted a three-game sweep by the Red Sox.
The fact that Toronto is opening the season with 13 games against American League East rivals — a stretch that continues Tuesday with the opener of a three-game series against the New York Yankees — might add a little something to these games as well.
But, as much as anything, the Blue Jays just needed to play a good game on Sunday before they started to fall into a rut of sloppy play. They needed to know that Estrada was over his spring-training back troubles and that his superb run of last season was no mirage. They needed to win a game in which they played strong defense and had their bullpen hold the lead in a close game.
All of this was accomplished on Sunday and they need to carry that over to Tuesday against the Yankees and into Fenway Park next weekend.
“It’s early in the season but we needed a game like that, crisp, good all-around play,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “There were a couple of sloppy games in the last couple of (days) and games that got away for us. They take their toll on you. So you’ve got to put a stop to it.”
Right-hander Aaron Sanchez will open the series against the Yankees. Based on his spring training performance and his first start of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays in which he allowed one run in seven innings and did not factor in the decision, he is a good candidate to keep things going for the Blue Jays.
“We know we have a good ball club,” Gibbons said. “But with the enthusiasm that’s running around here, you want to at least get off to a decent start to keep that going. You don’t want the naysayers to start jumping off that wagon. … We don’t want anyone panicking, that’s for sure.”