TORONTO - Craig Breslow stood alone outside the visitors' clubhouse at Rogers Center, talking on his phone for what seemed like call after call. The usually clean-shaven 45-year-old was a few days unshaven, helping paint a picture of a man with a lot on his mind and on his plate.
Meanwhile, out on the field, a wave of new Red Sox coaches appeared, painting a picture of a group getting their class schedules and seating assignments on the first day of school.
Then there were the players.
The sting and surprise of the dismissal of Alex Cora and five coaches still clearly lingered in the Red Sox’s inner sanctum, with Trevor Story revealing he had looped back to talk with Breslow about the situation, while Garrett Whitlock scheduled a meeting with the CBO for Tuesday. There were going to be differences. But ultimately, the reality the players were clearly wearing was that, through all the uncertainty, a baseball game would still be played.
Across the field, in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse, veteran pitcher Kevin Gausman offered a valuable perspective when reflecting on living through his team’s in-season managerial change four years ago.
“You have to find a way to get through it, because the game doesn’t stop,” Gausman said. “That’s one thing, the more time I spend in the big leagues, it doesn’t matter what you’re going through, what I’m going through, the game will continue. There will be a game tonight, there will be a game tomorrow night, and there will be a game on Wednesday. That will happen. It doesn’t matter what is going on. There will have to be some really serious stuff going on in the world for those baseball games not to happen. I remember when it happened to us, I remember thinking we’re going to be as close in this room as we can because we don’t know about that.”
Sure enough, the game didn’t stop.
The uncomfortable image, feel, and vibe that hovered prior to the Red Sox’s series opener against the Blue Jays somehow dissipated once the first pitch was thrown.
Two hours and 30 minutes later, the Red Sox had claimed a 5-0 win, their third victory in a row, and, maybe most importantly, taken at least a small step toward some normalcy and making people realize there is still hope for the 2026 season. They played good defense. They went 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Carlos Narvaez hit a home run. Marcelo Mayer reached base three times. And they handed one of the best pitchers in the American League this season, Dylan Cease, his worst outing of the year.
But perhaps the biggest takeaway from Monday night was that while the 162-game regular season can lead to some deafening drama, one element of the equation will always serve as the silencer: Really, really good starting pitching.
Ranger Suarez lowered everyone’s heart rate.
The lefty’s calling card has always been excelling when it counts the most, owning a 1.48 ERA in his 11 postseason appearances. The calendar might have suggested otherwise, but it was one of those times Suarez’s team desperately needed him to calm the waters. Sure enough, he lived up to his reputation.
The $130 million man effortlessly knifed through the Blue Jays’ batting order, landing with eight shutout innings, the first five being completed without giving up a hit. He struck out 10, walked just one, and never for an instance appeared to break a sweat.
It ultimately wasn’t that complicated, which was just what the doctor ordered for the Red Sox. Winning always helps strip away the chaos. Case in point, Monday night in Canada.
