Red Sox 10, Blue Jays 4: David Ortiz homered and scored four times as host Boston rode a six-run first inning to win the rubber game against visiting Toronto.
Adrian Gonzalez had a pair of hits and three RBIs to help the Red Sox win for the 11th time in 14 games and move a season-high five games over .500.
Left-hander Jon Lester (5-5) was the beneficiary of the offensive eruption, allowing four runs on seven hits in seven innings to win for only the second time in nine starts at Fenway Park.
Blue Jays ace Ricky Romero muddled through his shortest outing of the year, getting pounded for a season-high nine runs - eight earned - on seven hits in three-plus innings. He walked a season-high six and had his four-game winning streak snapped.
Jose Bautista reclaimed the major-league lead with his 25th homer and Edwin Encarnacion added a two-run blast after Boston had built a 10-2 cushion.
Encarnacion's error at first base on Gonzalez's first-inning grounder plated two runs before Mike Aviles and Darnell McDonald added RBI singles to stake Lester to a 6-1 lead. Aviles also had a run-scoring double in the fourth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Boston RHP Clay Buchholz was back in the clubhouse Wednesday after he was hospitalized for five days with esophagitis (an erosion of the esophogagus). Buchholz, who is 8-2 with a 5.53 ERA, was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 20. There is no timetable for his return. ... Blue Jays RHP Henderson Alvarez is expected to make his scheduled start Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels. He left Monday's start with elbow soreness, but an MRI exam revealed mild inflammation. ... Romero allowed more runs in the first inning than he had in any start this year. ... Ortiz's homer was the 399th of his career.
Toronto | Boston | |
Ricky Romero | Player | Jon Lester |
Loss | W/L | Win |
3.0 | IP | 7.0 |
1 | Strikeouts | 4 |
7 | Hits | 7 |
24.00 | ERA | 5.14 |
Toronto | Boston | |
Jose Bautista | Player | Cody Ross |
2 | Hits | 2 |
1 | RBI | 0 |
1 | HR | 0 |
6 | TB | 3 |
.500 | Avg | .667 |