BOSTON -- It came down to one final dramatic sequence with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts had his 26-game hitting streak snapped in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays.
Representing the tying run, Bogaerts struck out swinging on a full-count, 99-mph fastball by Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna to end the game. Bogaerts went 0-for-3 and walked twice. He was ahead in the count, 3-0, in his final at-bat in the ninth before Osuna bounced back.
In hindsight, Bogaerts wished he would have laid off the pitch -- which would have been high for a ball -- to get David Ortiz to the plate with the bases loaded.
"I wish I was a little bit more patient in the last at-bat," Bogaerts said. "I swung at a tough pitch. I was kind of looking up in the zone, but it was a bit too up for me, and it was a tough day to lose the streak. Obviously, I had a chance to at least get on base and get David a chance to do something with the game, but I battled and I enjoyed every bit of it."
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For a while, it looked like the four-pitch walk that Bogaerts worked in the eighth was going to end the streak. But the Red Sox rallied in the ninth, and when Dustin Pedroia laced a single to right, it gave Bogaerts one last chance.
"He really geared up," Bogaerts said of Osuna. "He was throwing 94, 95, and then that pitch came in on me in a hurry. Once it left his hand, I saw it kind of middle, and then it just kind of rose up."
The streak by Bogaerts came on the heels of an impressive 29-game run by Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. that ended on May 26.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Bogaerts and Bradley are just the second set of teammates in the past 75 years to have streaks of 26-plus games in the same season. Shawn Green (28 games) and Shannon Stewart (26) did it for the Blue Jays in 1999.
The hitting streak by Bogaerts was the second longest in the Major Leagues this season, trailing only Bradley.
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Dom DiMaggio holds the all-time Red Sox hitting streak with 34 games in 1949. But Dom's brother Joe still holds the best streak of all -- a 56-gamer in '41.
"I really don't know how he did it, because it's hard," Bogaerts said. "I'm going to be honest, that is kind of hard. Later on in games, I was kind of a bit nervous, especially these last few games, I've been getting out my first two at-bats. I would get a hit in my later at-bats. I enjoyed it. This was just an unfortunate day to end it."
The good news for Bogaerts is that he knows he'll feel more relaxed when he gets to Fenway Park for Saturday's game.
"For sure," Bogaerts said. "I'm going to be honest. Every third or fourth at-bat, I was kind of like saying to myself, 'You don't really have to get a hit, but to stay alive, you really do need one.' I'm pretty proud of myself that it lasted that long. I came to the field every day and worked and trusted my coaches and my teammates and just tried to not disappoint them."
"Once again, he's working deep into an at-bat, works the count full, he's up in the count, 3-0, and then Osuna makes a couple of quality pitches to get back into it," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "The stage is being set, so to speak, and he elevates a fastball that Xander offers at. Still, he's putting himself in just a great position to swing the bat pretty much every at-bat he's walking to the plate."
During his streak, Bogaerts had a line of .385/.419/.581 with eight doubles, five homers and 20 RBIs.