Anthony Seigler, Ceddanne Rafaela get Red Sox rolling again in win over Blue Jays

The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays, 6-4, on Friday night at Fenway Park, putting them within 14 wins of matching the franchise-record winning streak.

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OK, so that won’t happen again. Probably.

But in their first time back on the field after their historic 15-gamer ended Wednesday in a split doubleheader against the Orioles, the Red Sox looked much as they did over the prior month, pitching well, scoring enough, defending adeptly — and maintaining a knack for the dramatic, with a game-winning rally in the bottom of the eighth.

“We all knew this was going to happen. I mean, this is expected,” said Anthony Seigler, who had a career-high four hits, including the first leadoff homer of his career. “Just fighting. Just coming out with a dub. Every game, we’re expected to win. So that’s how we play. That’s how we compete, and that’s what we’re going to keep on doing.”

After the Blue Jays (47-57) rallied for four runs in the seventh and eighth innings to tie it, the Sox promptly untied it.

Facing righthanded reliever CJ Van Eyk, who was pitching in his second career major league game, the Red Sox received back-to-back RBI doubles from Romy Gonzalez (pinch hitting for catcher Connor Wong) and Seigler (third extra-base hit of the night).

In a vacuum, it was a big moment. In context, it was practically a ho-hum late-inning, game-sealing sequence — the norm lately for the Sox.

“There’s no panic,” Gonzalez said. “Obviously, that wasn’t the case earlier in the season, but over these last two-and-a-half, three weeks — even a month — we’ve been able to punch back when we get punched.”

Aroldis Chapman, too, continued his recent run of keeping things interesting, but in a bad way. He walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to lead off the inning, the fourth outing in a row in which he issued a free pass, before retiring the next three batters.

It marked career save No. 391 for Chapman, who broke a tie with Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley for ninth place on the all-time list.

“I was going to give him a lineup card,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “I’ve given him so many already. He’s got probably a stack of them.”

In the end, the Red Sox (53-49) emerged victorious for the 16th time in their past 17 games — and the 21st time in 24. They also moved into the second wild-card spot in the American League.

Setting up the late excitement: Greg Weissert gave up a three-run home run to Japanese rookie Kazuma Okamoto, his 23rd home run of the year.

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And Garrett Whitlock was scored upon for the first time since June 23, ending a streak of 13 consecutive scoreless appearances. It was the first time he blew a lead since May 24.

The first turning point, though, came before either team scored.

In the top of the first inning, the Blue Jays loaded the bases with two outs, thanks largely to lefthander Patrick Sandoval throwing 10 consecutive balls.

Davis Schneider was ahead in the count, 2-0, but Sandoval fought back with a foul tip and called strike to get to 2-2. After Schneider fouled off Sandoval’s fifth consecutive fastball, the hurler changed it up with a changeup — which Schneider watched for strike three.

Sandoval, who needed 26 pitches to get through the scoreless frame, screamed on his way off the mound.

“I didn’t set myself up for success, but I got out of it,” Sandoval said. “It wasn’t pretty. I’ll take zeroes.”

Sandoval wound up tossing 4⅔ scoreless innings, scattering five hits and two walks and striking out three.

In the bottom of the first, Seigler blasted a leadoff long ball. Ceddanne Rafaela added a two-run shot in the third. They combined to go 6 for 10 with four RBIs and three runs scored.

The Blue Jays’ Trey Yesavage slogged through four innings on 93 pitches, giving up those three runs and five hits (and striking out nine and walking just one).

The weekend series — against a last-place team — provided another opportunity for the Sox to beat up on a division rival, which has been a theme of their turnaround over the past month. That has, in turn, altered the outlook of the AL East.

“We needed to play better at home. We needed to play better in the division. Those were two things we needed to do,” Tracy said before the game. “And we did those things, and it kind of changed the dynamic with the run we went on. It changed the dynamic of what the division looks like as far as games back and all that.

“You can at least look up and you can see the top of the division. We couldn’t before — we were far enough behind. So, it’s in sight. I think that’s the best way to put it for now. It’s in sight, and based on where we were, that’s a good thing.”

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