Victor Martinez had three RBIs and Jonathan Papelbon converted his 22nd consecutive save to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.
The Red Sox took advantage of the wildness of Toronto starting pitcher Brandon Morrow (2-3), who walked six batters and allowed three hits in just 1 2/3 innings. Five of the batters that Morrow walked came around to score as he was charged with six runs.
Martinez had a two-run single in the first to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.
Toronto answered back with four runs off winning pitcher John Lackey (4-1) in the second inning. John Buck had a two-run double and Travis Snider and Fred Lewis followed with RBI singles.
Boston took the lead for good in the bottom of second as Morrow walked four of the first five batters he faced in the inning. Martinez then hit a perfect double-play ball but Aaron Hill’s throw to first base sailed into the stands and two runs scored.
After another Morrow walk, David Ortiz stroked an RBI single to give Boston a 6-4 lead. Dustin Pedroia added an RBI single in the third.
Toronto closed the gap to 7-6 on a two-run homer by Jose Bautista but the Boston bullpen retired 13 of the last 14 batters they faced to secure the victory.
Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save of the season.
Toronto | Boston | |
Brandon Morrow | Player | John Lackey |
Loss | W/L | Win |
1.2 | IP | 6.0 |
4 | Strikeouts | 6 |
3 | Hits | 8 |
32.40 | ERA | 9.00 |
Toronto | Boston | |
John Buck | Player | Dustin Pedroia |
2 | Hits | 2 |
2 | RBI | 2 |
0 | HR | 0 |
3 | TB | 3 |
.500 | Avg | .500 |