Red Sox take advantage of Toronto miscues, rally to win 4-3 in 10th and avoid 4-game sweep

BOSTON (AP) — Pinch-runner David Hamilton scampered home when the drawn-in Toronto infield couldn’t handle Trevor Story’s nubber to second base, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 4-3 in 10 innings on Thursday to avoid a four-game sweep.

Boston rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the eighth and trailed again after George Springer’s sacrifice fly in the 10th. Jarren Duran led off the bottom half with a single to score the automatic runner. After Duran was caught stealing, the Red Sox loaded the bases on Rafael Devers’ single and two hit batters.

With one out and the infield in, Story hit the ball off the end of the bat to second baseman Andrés Giménez, who was unable to field it cleanly and throw home. He did recover and get a meaningless out at first — after Hamilton slid head-first into home — avoiding what would have been Toronto’s third error of the game.

Brennan Bernardino (1-0) got the win after pitching a hitless 10th. Nick Sandlin (0-2) allowed two runs — one earned — two hits and two hitters while pitching two-thirds of an inning. Tyler Heineman had three hits for Toronto.

The Red Sox tied the game 2-2 in the eighth without a base hit.

Third baseman Will Wagner misplayed Rob Refsnyder's grounder to lead off the inning, and Duran walked. Brendon Little struck out Devers on a 3-2 pitch, then Yimi García got Alex Bregman to hit the ball to third and barely beat out the double play relay to first.

Garcia then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Refsnyder to score. (The Blue Jays asked for a review, thinking the pitch hit batter Triston Casas, but it did not.)

With two more errors, the Red Sox have 14 for the season — the most in the majors. They had allowed six unearned runs in their previous four games.

Toronto will send right-hander Bowden Francis (1-1) to the mound on Friday in Baltimore against righty Tomoyuki Sugano (1-1). The Red Sox head to Chicago, where lefty Sean Newcomb (0-1) will face righty Davis Martin in the opener against the White Sox.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Boston Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela cannot catch an eighth-inning double off the wall hit by Toronto Blue Jays' George Springer during a baseball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

Toronto Blue Jays' Will Wagner, center, scores in the seventh inning of a baseball game past Boston Red Sox catcher Carlso Narvaez, right, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

Boston Red Sox's Kristian Campbell, left, bumps gloves with manager Alex Cora before a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

Boston Red Sox's Kristian Campbell, left, bumps gloves with manager Alex Cora before a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

Boston Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, top, throws to first base over Boston Red Sox's Jarren Duran (16) to complete a double play in the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The offense-starved Pittsburgh Pirates finally made an aggressive offseason move, acquiring two-time All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe from the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a three-team trade that also includes the Houston Astros.

The Rays are sending Lowe, left-hander Mason Montgomery and outfielder Jake Mangum to Pittsburgh, who in turn are dealing right-hander Mike Burrows to Houston. The Astros are sending outfielder Jacob Melton and right-hander Anderson Brito to Tampa Bay.

The 31-year-old Lowe, an All-Star in 2019 and 2025, gives the Pirates a veteran bat for a lineup in desperate need of some pop to support a promising young pitching staff led by National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.

The left-handed Lowe hit .256 with 31 home runs and 83 RBIs for Tampa Bay and now heads to PNC Park, where the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field could be a tantalizing target.

The move is an unusually aggressive one for the Pirates, who have been reticent to acquire much in the way of salary in recent years. Lowe is scheduled to make $11.5 million in 2026 and can become a free agent after the World Series.

Pittsburgh was thought to be pursuing slugger Kyle Schwarber, who opted to stay in Philadelphia. The Pirates did trade for outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia, who hit 18 homers in Triple-A in the Red Sox organization last year.

Lowe, however, is the kind of splashy move that provides actual proof that the team is committed — in 2026, at least — to upgrading an offense that was at or near the bottom of the majors in nearly every major category, including runs and home runs.

The 26-year-old Burrows went 2-4 with a 3.94 ERA for the Pirates last season, but he may have found himself the odd man out in a starting rotation projected to include Skenes, Bubba Chandler and Mitch Keller, among others.

The left-handed Montgomery will have a chance to carve out a spot in a Pittsburgh bullpen that includes closer Dennis Santana and veteran left-hander Gregory Soto. Montgomery went 1-3 with a 5.67 ERA in 57 games last season for the Rays.

The 29-year-old Mangum hit .296 and stole 27 bases in 118 games for Tampa Bay during his rookie season last year.

Melton, 24, hit just .157 during his debut with Houston last season but batted a solid .286 while playing for Triple-A Sugar Land before his call-up. The 21-year-old Brito had a sub-4.00 ERA while playing in the low minors last year.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

FILE - Tampa Bay Rays Brandon Lowe follows through on a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the third inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton, File)