Jays Take Three of Four from Boston

MON 9/5:Red Sox 0, BLUE JAYS 1

The opener to this four-game set was a painful loss for the Sox, literally and figuratively. Josh Beckett's start for the Sox was cut short when he sprained his right ankle on the mound with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, leaving Terry Francona to rely on the bullpen in a game that would eventually require extra frames. Alfredo Aceves, Daniel Bard, and Jonathan Papelbon combined to hold the Jays bats silent for just over six innings, but the game's first and only run came when Toronto rookie Brett Lawrie tattooed a Dan Wheeler fastball over the left-centerfield wall for the walk-off win.

TUE 9/6:RED SOX 14, Blue Jays 0

Combine a hitting clinic with a stellar joint pitching performance and what do you get? Answer: A dominating victory by the Sox in the second game of this series. The Sox offense racked up 20 base hits against Jays, with David Ortiz and Marco Scutaro each with four knocks of their own. Jon Lester started on the hill and went seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out eleven. Kyle Weiland came out of the pen and went the final two innings in relief, giving up just one hit.

WED 9/7:Red Sox 10, BLUE JAYS 11

The Sox dropped the third game of this series in maybe the most gut-wrenching game of the season. Tim Wakefield went five innings and gave up five runs (four earned) and was in position to finally earn his 200th career win, but that all changed when Daniel Bard came out of the pen in the eighth inning. Bard imploded and gave up a career-high five runs and coughed up the lead to the Jays. The Sox had a chance to draw even in the ninth as Adrian Gonzalez cut the lead to two by belting a solo shot to right to open the inning. David Ortiz then singled and Marco Scutaro brought him home with an RBI single up the middle. With Josh Reddick at the plate, Mike Aviles pinch-ran for Scutaro but was gunned down by Jays catcher Jose Molina, ending the game.

THU 9/8:RED SOX 4, BLUE JAYS 7

Lefty Andrew Miller had another rough start in the final game of this series, giving up eight hits and five earned through five innings of work. The Jays put up four in the second frame, putting the Sox in an early hole that they never dug themselves out of. The Sox drop three out of four in Toronto and stay two and a half games out of first place in the AL East.