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Major League Baseball
Boston 3, Toronto 2
When: 7:10 PM ET, Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Where: Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Temperature: 79°
Umpires: Home - Marvin Hudson, 1B - Shane Livensparger, 2B - Jerry Layne, 3B - Dan Bellino
Attendance: 33009

BOSTON -- Hanley Ramirez wasn't very good Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning was a different story.

Ramirez was 1-for-7 when he stepped to the plate after midnight, but delivered a hit that made his woeful stat line irrelevant.

The mercurial Red Sox designated hitter hit a walk-off bloop single to center field in the 19th inning to send the Boston Red Sox past the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2, ending a six-hour marathon at Fenway Park.

"Sometimes it's not going to be easy," Ramirez said. "There's a lot of things in our way, but nothing's going to stop us to continue to go where we want to go and what we want to be. We want to be a champion."

Mookie Betts led off the bottom of the 19th with a double off the Green Monster in left field against Blue Jays reliever Chris Rowley (1-2), setting the stage for Ramirez.

It was the second walk-off RBI of the season for Ramirez and the eighth of his career. He finished with two RBIs on the night, including one in the Red Sox's game-tying, two-run ninth inning.

The Red Sox used 12 pitchers, tying a American League record set by the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night in an 11-inning game against the Oakland A's.

"It's a two-run game for 19 innings? In this park? There was some pretty good pitching going on on both sides," acting Blue Jays manager DeMarlo Hale said.

It was the second-longest game in Fenway Park history following an 8-7 loss to the Seattle Mariners in 20 innings in 1981.

Hector Velazquez (3-1) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Boston relief pitchers set a franchise record with 13 shutout innings.

"Every guy that walked out to the mound, they did exactly what we needed to do with their backs against the wall," Red Sox manager John Farrell said.

Rowley gave up one run on three hits with two strikeouts in three innings of relief.

Mitch Moreland also had an RBI for the Red Sox.

Boston (78-61) snapped a three-game losing streak and increased its lead atop the American League East to 3 1/2 games over the Yankees. New York lost 7-6 to the Baltimore Orioles.

"Even though it took 19 innings, I think we're all happy we came out on top," Betts said.

Toronto (64-75) fell for the third time in four games. The Blue Jays hit four home runs en route to a 10-4 victory Monday in the series opener.

"It's hard. It's hard to take a loss like this," Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada said of the Tuesday game. "Anytime you go extra innings and you lose, it's not a good feeling. But to go 19 innings, I feel bad for the guys who were out there."

Kendrys Morales hit a solo home run, his 27th of the year, and Teoscar Hernandez drove in the other run for Toronto.

The Red Sox moved to 32-31 against AL East opponents this season, including 11-4 against the Blue Jays.

Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez tossed six innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.

Rodriguez is winless in his past 11 starts (0-4), with the young southpaw's last victory coming May 26 against Seattle.

Estrada also received a no-decision after pitching seven scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and three walks while striking out three.

Boston tied the game 2-2 against Toronto closer Roberto Osuna in the ninth on back-to-back RBI groundouts from Ramirez and Moreland after an Andrew Benintendi walk and a Betts double put runners on second and third with no outs.

It marked Osuna's 10th blown save of the season.

"He's going to be just fine," Estrada said of Osuna. "The guy's one of the best closers in the game. He's just hit a rough patch."

Justin Smoak nearly put the Blue Jays ahead with one out in the 11th, sending a fly ball to center field with runners on first and third. Jackie Bradley Jr. made the catch and fired a rocket to catcher Christian Vazquez to complete the double play and preserve the tie.

"Jackie's throw, a couple-hundred-foot strike to cut down (Jose) Bautista (at the plate), and that allowed us to stay alive," Farrell said.

Plate umpire Marvin Hudson ejected Toronto's Josh Donaldson for arguing balls and strikes with nobody out in the Blue Jays' half of the 18th.

Hernandez plated the game's first run with a one-out sacrifice fly in the second inning.

Morales doubled the Blue Jays' lead in the sixth, sending an 0-2 Rodriguez pitch into the Green Monster seats for a solo shot.

NOTES: The New York Times reported Tuesday that Boston used an Apple Watch to steal signs against the New York Yankees and other teams. Red Sox manager John Farrell and president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski were aware of the situation. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, in town for a regularly scheduled visit, confirmed the investigation and said he "take(s) any issue that affects play on the field extremely seriously." ... Toronto 1B Justin Smoak (bruised calf) was not in the lineup, but he entered as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning. He fouled a ball off his calf Monday. ... Blue Jays manager John Gibbons missed his fourth consecutive game because of a personal matter. Bench coach DeMarlo Hale again served as the team's acting manager. ... Red Sox RHP Carson Smith was activated from the 60-day disabled list and made his season debut in the 18th inning. Smith, sidelined while recovering from Tommy John surgery, had not pitched in the majors since May 14, 2016. RHP Kyle Martin was designated for assignment.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Toronto   Boston
Marco Estrada Player Eduardo Rodriguez
No Decision W/L No Decision
7.0 IP 6.0
3 Strikeouts 8
3 Hits 6
0.00 ERA 3.00
Hitting
Toronto   Boston
Darwin Barney Player Mookie Betts
3 Hits 3
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
4 TB 5
.750 Avg .429
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Toronto 12 1 18 .185 23 23 2 4 1 0
Boston 11 0 14 .175 22 12 3 5 1 2