Sweep lifts Blue Jays out of AL East basement
The Toronto Blue Jays did their part in making the Boston Red Sox's miserable season just a little bit more wretched.
They swept Boston for the second consecutive series at Fenway Park with a 4-3 win Sunday.
The sweep knocked the Red Sox into last place in the American League East and moved the Blue Jays into fourth place. It's not much when you consider the hot race going on among the other three teams in the division, but it can be something to build on for the Blue Jays as the finish a season that has been ruined by injury.
The Blue Jays had not won six in a row at Fenway Park in the same season since 1989, when they won the American League East.
The teams meet for one more series, this weekend in Toronto, as speculation continues about which of the two teams Blue Jays manager John Farrell will be running next season. Farrell handled questions this week about the possibility of returning to Boston by saying he is committed to Toronto and is under contract for 2013.
He continues to concentrate on the final weeks of the season.
"One of the three main things we look for in this final month is how we prepare and how we continue to play good sound baseball throughout, and that's the expectation as we finish this season," Farrell said.
It was fitting that Omar Vizquel had two sacrifice flies in Sunday's game, including one in the ninth that scored the eventual winning run. It was Vizquel's final game at Fenway.
"It's very nice for (Farrell) to give me the chance to play here my last time," Vizquel said. "I'm glad that things went all right. My last at-bat was a good at-bat, a game-winning RBI. I feel pretty special because I have a lot of memorable moments here. I'm very excited about it."
