Clay Does Canada: Buchholz Wins Sixth Straight At Rogers Centre

Who knows if it is because of the better health care system, the cleaner air or the ubiquity of hockey but Clay Buchholz loves to pitch in Toronto (yes I know it's indoors).

Buchholz (5-2) won his sixth straight start at the Rogers Centre tonight as the Red Sox (27-25, 14-11 away) pulled even with the Blue Jays (27-25, 15-11 home) thanks to a 7-2 victory in the series opener.

It's a small and crappy sample size but this was definitely his best outing of the season. Not only did he last eight innings (2 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks) but he struck out a season-high seven batters. All Toronto could manage against him were a pair of harmless solo home runs.

Boston's offense pounded Blue Jays starter Henderson Alvarez (3-5) along with two no-name scrub relievers, to the tune of 15 hits. Alvarez lasted 6.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

Daniel Nava went 4 for 5 with three doubles, three runs and an RBI while Adrian Gonzalez was 3 for 5 with a double, two RBIs and a run. David Ortiz (2 RBIs, run, walk) and Ryan Sweeney (run) also had multiple hits in the win.

Ortiz got the party started with a solo homer (his 13th of the season) to left center in the second inning. Gonzalez had an RBI single in the third but Yunel Escobar got the Blue Jays on the board that frame with a solo homer (his 3rd of the season).

Boston scored a run on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's fielder's choice in the third and the Red Sox tacked on four additional runs in the seventh to clinch it. Scott Podsednik had an infield single that scored a run, Nava crushed an RBI double, Gonzalez added another RBI single and Ortiz did the same.

David Cooper (double) gave the Blue Jays fans something to cheer about as he hit his first homer of the season, a solo shot in the seventh.

Still, Buchholz threw 108 pitches and perhaps most importantly, he saved Boston's bullpen. Only Scott Atchison was summoned, to handle the ninth.

Felix Doubront (5-2) faces Kyle Drabek (4-5) tomorrow afternoon (1:07 p.m., NESN) with a chance to help the Red Sox leapfrog the Blue Jays in the AL East standings (and get out of the basement in the process).

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2011 Boston Red Sox cannot seem to get to the .500 mark to save their lives

It's going to happen eventually, I hope, but for the time being the Boston Red Sox simply cannot get to the .500 mark let alone jump over it.

For the third time in the 2011 season, they had a chance to get to .500 last night but once again, they fell short in a 7-6 loss in 11 innings at the Rogers Centre.

Jon Lester wasn't right from the start, giving up three runs in the first inning but the Red Sox (17-19) battled back to tie it multiple times, including a ninth-inning run off Blue Jays (16-20) closer Frank Francisco.

Lester struggled through 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits, five earned runs with five walks and five strikeouts. He was done after 114 pitches.

The poor pitching by Boston ruined a great night by its bipolar offense. The Red Sox put up a season-high 16 hits led by Adrian Gonzalez (3 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs), David Ortiz (3 hits, 2 runs, RBI), Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits extending his hit streak to 19 games, stolen base), Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, 2 walks, run, stolen base) and J.D. Drew (2 hits).

Rookie Kyle Drabek (5 innings, 8 hits, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts) didn't give the Blue Jays much but his bullpen was just a hair better than Boston's.

Carl Crawford (10 game hit streak) cut it to 3-1 in the second with an RBI single. A solo homer by Ortiz (fifth of the season) in the fourth and Gonzalez's two-run blast in the fifth gave the Red Sox a 4-3 advantage.

Jose Bautista and J.P. Arencibia had solo homers in the fifth and sixth respectively to put Toronto back ahead 5-4.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia tied it in the eighth with an RBI single.

Rookie David Cooper hit a solo homer in the eighth off Daniel Bard but Gonzalez came through with the clutch homer in the ninth off Francisco to tie it.

With Matt Albers (0-1) on the mound, Rajai Davis singled in the tenth then stole sceond and third base on him and Jason Varitek. Cooper drove Davis home with a deep sacrifice fly to center.

This mini-series ends tonight with John Lackey opposing Jesse Litsch. You know what that means: I won't be watching much since A) Lackey will be shelled as per usual and the Celtics are facing the Heat while Miami has the chance to close out Boston.