Red Sox Are 1st AL Team To 50 Wins This Season, Thanks To Walk-Off Error By Blue Jays

Who knows if they'll keep it up the rest of the season but for now, we can reasonably conclude that things are going the Red Sox' way when it comes to wins and losses. Boston (50-34 overall, 28-16 home) beat Toronto (40-41 overall, 18-24 away) 5-4 at Fenway Park to take three of four in the series and keep the best record in the AL. This is only the fourth time in franchise history that they've reached 50 wins before July, the last time was in 2008.

The Red Sox concluded June as the first team in the American League to reach 50 wins and it happened in bizarre fashion since Shane Victorino's easy chopper to first baseman Josh Thole (a defensive sub for Adam Lind who left with back tightness) went under his glove and allowed pinch runner/journeyman Jonathan Diaz to score the winning run. Did I mention that Brandon Snyder (2 for 4) had a two-run double in the second for Boston? Or how about how Ryan Dempster (5.1 innings, 2 earned runs, 7 hits, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks) and Craig Breslow wiggled out of a bases loaded no out jam in the sixth without allowing a run?

Ryan Lavarnway fittingly began the strange game with an ground-rule RBI double in the second. Toronto cut it to 3-2 in the fourth on Colby Rasmus' (2 hits) RBI single and a ground out by Maicer Izturis.

Jonny Gomes put Boston back up by two runs with an RBI double in the fifth. The Blue Jays tied it with solo homers for Jose Reyes in the seventh and Jose Bautista (3 hits) in the ninth which spoiled the fourth save in five days for Koji Uehara (1-0).

Daniel Nava was 2 for 4 with a run in the victory while Edwin Encarnacion (2 for 5 with run) and Rajai Davis (2 for 5 with run and stolen base) each had multiple hits in the loss.

Andrew Miller pitched 1.2 scoreless innings of relief for the Red Sox with a pair of strikeouts, his sixth hold of the season.

Boston gets tomorrow off before they wrap up the final series of this long and productive homestand (5-1) with an interleague matchup: three games against San Diego (40-42 overall, 3rd in NL West). John Lackey (5-5) faces rookie Robbie Erlin (1-0) on Tuesday (7:10, NESN), Jon Lester (8-4) is scheduled to take on Edinson Volquez (6-6) on Wednesday (7:10, NESN) and on the Fourth of July (1:35, NESN) rookie Allen Webster (0-2) gets the ball opposite Eric Stults (6-6).

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Red Sox End A Great April 2013 With A Loss In Toronto

The Red Sox will have to wait another year to try and set a record for wins in April. Boston (18-8 overall, 7-3 away) had a chance to set a new franchise mark tonight in their series opener at Toronto's (10-17 overall, 6-8 home) Rogers Centre but the Blue Jays held on for a wild 9-7 victory.

Jon Lester (6 innings, 6 runs, 5 earned runs, 6 hits, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks) had his first poor start of 2013 and predictably it cost his team. Toronto starter Brandon Morrow (5 innings, 3 earned runs, 6 hits, 7 strikeouts, 3 walks) was his usual hit or miss (literally) self.

Toronto snapped their four-game losing streak by getting a run in the first on Jose Bautista's RBI double then two runs scored in the third on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's throwing error and J.P. Arencibia (2 hits, run) made it 4-0 with an RBI double of his own.

Boston's five-game winning streak ended North of the border but it wasn't for lack of effort. David Ortiz (3rd of the season) and Mike Carp (1st as a Red Sox) had solo homers in the fourth and Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, run, walk) cut it to 4-3 in the fifth with an RBI single.

Edwin Encarnacion crushed a two-run bomb in the fifth as the Blue Jays led 6-3 but Boston went ahead for the first time thanks to Jonny Gomes' solo blast (1st as a Red Sox) in the sixth and Ortiz's three-run double in the seventh.

Boston's bullpen was one of the main reasons they had such an unexpectedly solid April but in this game, they blew it. Encarnacion provided the go-ahead run with another two-run shot-this time off Junichi Tazawa (2-1) in the seventh-and Colby Rasmus (2 hits) added an RBI single in the eighth against Joel Hanrahan (who was activated before the game but demoted from the closer role).

The Blue Jays bullpen was superior with Darren Oliver pitching a scoreless eighth (remember when he was on the Red Sox a million years ago?) and closer Casey Janssen had a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save of the season.

Jacoby Ellsbury got on base four times (2 hits, 2 walks, run) but he was also caught stealing third and even worse picked off second base to end the fifth inning.

Boston will look to bounce back tomorrow night (7:07 p.m., NESN) as Clay Buchholz (5-0) takes the mound against Mark Buehrle (1-1).

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Red Sox Win 5th Straight Series, Punctuate 7-2 Homestand With 10-4 Thrashing Of Blue Jays

In terms of perfect scenarios, the Red Sox couldn't have asked for much more to happen this afternoon on getaway day at Fenway Park.

Boston (40-35, 21-21 home) got back to .500 at home and a season-high five games over .500 thanks to a 10-4 win against the Blue Jays (38-37, 19-22 away). The Red Sox took two of three from Toronto to end a wildly successful homestand at 7-2.

More importantly, the Red Sox have won five straight series and nine of their last 11 games overall to vault into a tie for third-place with the Tampa Bay Rays (who were swept in a three-game series by the Royals which ended this afternoon). Plus, Boston is now two games ahead of Toronto. It's the first time all season that the Red Sox haven't been fourth or fifth place in the ultra-competitive AL East.

The beauty of this game and what makes me wish I had attended is that it was over in a tidy 2 hours and 40 minutes even though there were a combined 14 runs, 17 hits and six different pitchers. Hell even the rain which looked imminent held off. I only wish that MLB and particularly the Red Sox' games were normally played at that pace, everyone would be so much happier.

Ricky Romero (8-2) beat the Red Sox a couple times last season but this was more typical of how he usually fares against Boston. A good pitcher vs. most teams, he can't do anything when he sees the Red Sox for whatever reason. This was over right away as Boston led 7-1 in the second inning. Romero went three innings, allowing nine runs (eight earned) on seven hits with six walks and one strikeout.

We can give Jon Lester (5-5) somewhat of a pass since he was simply trying to get outs once his teammates handed him such a big lead. He went seven innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts.

Colby Rasmus gave the Blue Jays a very brief 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first.

Romero couldn't find the plate in the first and Boston took advantage. Dustin Pedroia had an RBI double, a run scored on an error, Will Middlebrooks drove in a run with a groundout, Mike Aviles (2 hits, 2 RBIs, run, stolen base) had an RBI single and Darnell McDonald had an RBI single to put the Red Sox on top 6-1.

Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits, 3 RBIs, run) had an RBI single in the second before Jose Bautista (25th of the season, 13th in June) took Lester deep in the fourth but it was only a solo home run.

Gonzalez, who's quietly on a eight-game hit streak, added another RBI single in the fifth while Aviles notched an RBI double.

Fittingly, David Ortiz (4 runs, 3 walks) closed it out with a solo homer (his 21st of the season) in the fifth. It was the 399th of his career which ties him with Andres Galarraga and Al Kaline for 49th in MLB history. Duke Snider is 48th with 407.

Edwin Encarnacion (22nd of the season) had a two-run blast in the sixth for the final margin.

Cody Ross was 2 for 3 with a double, walk and two runs scored in the lopsided win for the home team.

Boston plays four games in Seattle followed by three games in Oakland. It's their first visit to the West Coast this season and last road trip before the All-Star break (wild, I know). They need to take advantage of playing these mediocre AL West teams; the Red Sox beat the Mariners (32-45, 4th in AL West) both times they played at Fenway on May 14 and 15.

This time Boston doesn't miss Felix Hernandez (5-5) as he faces Franklin Morales (1-1) tomorrow night (10:10 p.m., NESN) in the series opener. Aaron Cook (1-1) gets Hector Noesi (2-9) on Friday night (10:10 p.m., NESN), Josh Beckett (4-7) returns from the DL on Saturday night against Erasmo Ramirez (0-2) and Felix Doubront (8-4) opposes Jason Vargas (7-7) in the series finale on Sunday afternoon (4:10 p.m., NESN).

Bigger picture: the Yankees put C.C. Sabathia on the DL today (he's expected to miss two starts) while Andy Pettitte broke his ankle pitching this afternoon so he'll be out 6-8 weeks. New York still won and they are up 6.5 games on Boston but now might be the time that the Red Sox get closer in the standings. Something to keep in mind. The Yankees also come to Fenway July 6-8 for the last series of the first half. If the Red Sox do well on this road trip, that could be a pretty meaningful weekend.

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Oritz Homers Twice But Doubront Has Nothing & Red Sox Fall 9-6 To Blue Jays In Series Opener

In the first game of the post-Kevin Youkilis era, the Red Sox scored some runs but Felix Doubront was a mess so they lost 9-6 to the Blue Jays in the series opener at damp Fenway Park.

Toronto (38-35, 19-20 away) scored four runs in the first and a run in the second to take a 5-2 lead. Boston (38-35, 19-21 home) tied it at five in the fourth inning but it's almost impossible to win when you allow a trio of two-run homers.

Doubront (8-4) was never himself. He gutted out six innings but it was ugly since he allowed seven runs (five earned) on a career-high 11 hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

Henderson Alvarez (4-6) left in the sixth with an elbow injury (yikes!) but he was in line for the win and the Blue Jays were able to hang on and survive an hour-and-56 minute rain delay in the top of the seventh.

Five players on Toronto had multiple hits, led by Colby Rasmus (3 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs). Ben Francisco (2 hits, 2 runs), Edwin Encarnacion (2 hits, RBI, run), Brett Lawrie (2 hits, run, stolen base) and Yunel Escobar (2 hits, stolen base) all had nice nights at the plate.

Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with a triple, stolen base and two runs scored.

Rasmus (14th of the season) sneaked a two-run homer in the first around Pesky's pole in right field. Encarnacion had an RBI double and a run scored on Rajai Davis's groundout. It was 4-0 before most of the fans had settled into their seats.

David Ortiz (3 runs) hit a two-run homer to right center, his 19th of the season, in the bottom of the first.

Rasmus added an RBI single in the second before scored twice in the third and once in the fourth to draw even. A run came across on an error then Adrian Gonzalez had an RBI single in the third. Ryan Kalish's (2 hits, stolen base) RBI single tied it at five in the fourth.

J.P. Arencibia (10th of the season) hit a two-run bomb over the Monster off Doubront in the sixth then Jose Bautista (24th of the season) did the same in the seventh except it was against Matt Albers. Toronto led 9-5 which was more than enough.

Ortiz hit a solo homer in the eighth off Darren Oliver to center, his 11th straight season with 20+ homers (second game with two this season; 37th with the Red Sox, 39th all-time in his career) but Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen struck out the side in a clean ninth for his eighth save of the season.

Tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) promises to be anything but an instant classic as Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-2) takes on journeyman Aaron Laffey (0-0), who is making his first start of the season due to all the injuries to Toronto starters. Get your bullpens ready!

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Daniel Bard Isn't Cut Out To Be A Starting Pitcher In MLB, That Much Is Clear

Outside of bad Little League games (where a kid that never pitches briefly tries to), I'm pretty sure I've never seen a starting pitcher meltdown quite like Daniel Bard did this afternoon in Toronto.

The Red Sox (28-26, 15-12 away) had a chance to sweep the Blue Jays (28-26, 16-12 home) but Bard (5-6) never gave them a chance as they lost 5-1 at Rogers Centre. Boston enjoyed exactly one day in fourth place, now they are back in the AL East basement tied with Toronto.

Bard lasted 1.2 innings (55 pitches/24 strikes), allowing five earned runs on one hit with two strikeouts and six walks. He also hit two batters. To say he didn't have control would do a great disservice to Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn in Major League and Rick Ankiel. It got to the point where you felt bad for the Blue Jays hitters that had to step in against him since he throws so hard but he had absolutely no clue where it would end up. Yunel Escobar was hit on the hand and Edwin Encarnacion was hit on the wrist and ended up leaving later in the game.

Of course, the one hit Bard allowed was a three-run bomb by Jose Bautista (14th of the season) in the first inning. I've said all along that moving Bard to the rotation was pointless but still, I never wished this on him. He went from being one of the top setup men in MLB and top young arms to a complete mess as a fifth starter in a mediocre rotation on an average team. Don't ask me how to fix this huge problem since I don't have a clue. His confidence must be completely shot.

The Blue Jays added two runs in the second on Bautista's bases loaded walk and Encarnacion's painful hit by pitch.

Kelly Shoppach (3rd of the season) provided the only Red Sox run with a solo home run in the fifth inning.

Boston played like a team in the last game of a series on the road (aka getaway day), with tomorrow off. Although no excuse since it was only a three-game road trip. They managed just six hits against rookie Drew Hutchison (5-2) and a trio of Toronto relievers. Hutchison went seven easy innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts and a walk.

Franklin Morales went an absurd 4.1 innings, he was the first reliever out of Boston's bullpen and he submitted his longest relief work in his MLB career. He didn't allow a run with only two hits and four strikeouts. Morales as a starter? Haha just kidding but he was awesome.

Fenway Park will have a distinct DC-Metro area feel this week as Baltimore comes for three games beginning on Tuesday then the Washington Nationals restart Interleague play with a visit next weekend for three.

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Breaking News: For The First Time In 2012, The Red Sox Are Ahead Of Someone In The AL East

After 53 games (nearly a third of the 2012 regular season), the Boston Red Sox decided they had enough of the dingy American League East basement.

They finally did something about it by beating the Toronto Blue Jays (27-26, 15-12 home) 7-4 this afternoon at Rogers Centre. The win clinched the series for the Red Sox (28-25, 15-11 away) while also sending Toronto into last-place.

Felix Doubront (6-2) continued to earn his surprising moniker as best Boston starting pitcher this season with another solid outing. He tied a season-high with 6.1 innings, he allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits with seven strikeouts and a walk. Like Clay Buchholz on Friday night, both of Doubront's runs came on solo homers. Needless to say, for whatever reason the ball flies out of the Rogers Centre even when the roof is closed.

File this away since it will likely never happen again this season but Nick Punto was the catalyst of Boston's offense. He went 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs while also falling a triple short of a cycle.

Alfredo Aceves wrapped up the win with a 1-2-3 ninth (including a strikeout) for his 14th save of the season.

Blue Jays starter Kyle Drabek (4-6) had another underachieving start for a guy of his talents. He went 6.2 innings but allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits with four strikeouts and four walks.

Boston put up four runs in the second inning thanks to some timely hitting and terrible defense by Toronto. Will Middlebrooks (RBI single), Punto (RBI double) and Daniel Nava (two-run single) all had two-out RBIs. Nava's "hit" deserves an asterisk though since it was an easy catch that Blue Jays center fielder Colby Rasmus failed to make. It's a joke that the Blue Jays scorekeeper didn't credit him with an error, maybe his overbearing dad is in charge of that thankless task.

Backup catcher Jeff Mathis (3rd of the season) had a solo shot in the third to get Toronto within 3-1. Even though Middlebrooks grounded into a double play, a run scored in the fourth. The Blue Jays showed some life as Kelly Johnson (2 hits) had an RBI single in the fourth and Jose Bautista (13th of the season) went deep in the fifth, with nobody on base.

David Ortiz scored on Ryan Sweeney's ground out in the eighth and Brett Lawrie answered with an RBI single. Punto added the insurance run in the ninth with his first homer as a Red Sox. Proving that anything in life is possible, light-hitting Punto crushed it 444 feet to right.

Daniel Bard (5-5) faces rookie Drew Hutchison (4-2) tomorrow afternoon (1:07 p.m., NESN) as the Red Sox go for the sweep in Toronto.

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Grandpa Wakefield Finally Records Win No. 200, Now Get Off His Damn Lawn!

It only took Tim Wakefield nine tries to get win No. 200 but he finally accomplished the milestone tonight and it couldn't come at a better time for the Boston Red Sox.

The 45-year old knuckleballer, MLB's oldest player, went six innings as the Red Sox (86-61) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 18-6 blowout of the Toronto Blue Jays (74-74) at Fenway Park.

Coupled with Baltimore's gift of a win over Tampa Bay, Boston moved back to four games ahead of the Rays in the AL wild card race. The Yankees held serve in Seattle with another win, New York leads the AL East by four games.

Since his last win took place way back on July 24, it was an honest question to wonder if Wakefield (7-6) would ever get to 200. Everything seemed to conspire against him: bad outings, the bullpen blowing it, tough luck, etc. The fact that it happened to be one of the most vital wins of the season for a team desperately trying to cling to a playoff spot is a feather in the cap of Boston's most professional athlete.

Wakefield went six innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Staked to a 10-5 lead, Boston's bats continued to come out of their recent coma as they piled up a season-high run total.

Brandon Morrow (9-11) was his typical erratic, not very good self. In 5.1 innings, he allowed seven runs (five earned) on seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

Another great sign for the Red Sox is that Dustin Pedroia (5 RBIs, 4 runs, 4 hits) broke his cold streak with one of his best games of the season. Jacoby Ellsbury (4 runs, 4 hits, 3 RBIs), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (4 RBIs, 2 runs, 2 hits), Carl Crawford (3 runs, 2 hits), Marco Scutaro (2 runs, 2 hits) and Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits) all had multiple hits which made you quickly forget that David Ortiz was a late scratch with back spasms.

Toronto was competitive in the early innings as J.P. Arencibia hit a three-run blast into the Monster in the second inning and Jose Bautista (his MLB-leading 42nd of the season) added a two-run homer off Fisk's pole in the third.

Ellsbury (27th of the season) and Pedroia (19th of the season) went back-to-back to give Boston the lead for good in the fourth at 6-5. Pedroia padded his stats with a three-run shot in the sixth.

Alfredo Aceves locked it up for Wake with a scoreless seventh and eighth.

The record figures to skip tomorrow afternoon as John Lackey ushers out the last summer like day at Fenway with what's sure to be another unforgettable start. The Jays counter with Ricky Romero, who was great last week against Boston but typically struggles for some reason against the Red Sox.

One more time, give it up for Wakefield!

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Tim Wakefield As Your Number 2 Starter in 2011? So Far, So Good

With a season-ending injury to Daisuke Matsuzaka and trips to the disabled list for Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield (the oldest man in MLB) has gone from forgotten spare part to a key component of the starting rotation.

That's not an ideal situation but the Red Sox are riding this string of bad luck with injuries into the All-Star break so that they can regroup and hopefully get more healthy.

Last night, Wakefield (5-3) struck out a season-high seven as Boston (51-35) took two out of three from Toronto (42-46) with a 6-4 win at Fenway Park.

Wakefield lasted seven innings, allowing three earned runs on nine hits with a walk.

Daniel Bard got two outs in the eighth before there was a 28-minute rain delay. Dan Wheeler got the final out of the frame after the tarp was pulled off the field. For the second night in a row, Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon had a shaky outing (giving up a run) but he still managed to strike out the side for his 19th save of the season.

Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero (7-8) continued to mystify as he's a quality MLB pitcher against virtually every other team except the Red Sox. He went 4.1 innings, allowing six earned runs on nine hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

Jacoby Ellsbury (3 RBIs, run, stolen base) and Kevin Youkilis (run, RBI) both smacked three hits for Boston's offense.

Yunel Escobar went 4-for-5 for Toronto while Jose Bautista (2 RBIs) and Travis Snider added two hits apiece for the Blue Jays.

Bautista gave Toronto a 1-0 lead in the first as his single drove in Escobar.

Ellsbury quickly tied it up with a leadoff homer, his 10th bomb (a career-high) of the season.

Youkilis followed with his 12th homer of the season in the second inning for a 2-1 Boston lead.

The Blue Jays took one more lead in the third as Bautista drove in Rajai Davis with a sacrifice fly and Adam Lind plated Escobar with an RBI single, 3-2 Toronto.

The Red Sox put up a crooked number in the fourth with four runs. Darnell McDonald tied it with an RBI single, Yamaico Navarro had an RBI double and Ellsbury (who's had a great season thus far) knocked in two with a double of his own.

Escobar got the last Toronto run in the ninth as he hit an RBI single off Papelbon.

The Baltimore Orioles come to Fenway for the last series of the unofficial first half of the 2011 season. The four-game set starts tonight with Andrew Miller taking on O's youngster Jake Arrieta.

Baltimore is still one of the worst teams in the American League and baseball so three out of four isn't too much to ask despite John Lackey and Alfredo Aceves (not to mention Miller) all slated to start in this series.

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Red Sox Beat Blue Jays On Walk-Off Play At The Plate That Goes Their Way

One of the great things about baseball (and why people will put up with such long seasons) is that no matter how many games you watch it at any level, you always have the chance to see something for the first time.

Last night was one of those special moments as the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 at Fenway Park.

After Blue Jays (42-45) infielder John McDonald (2 hits) hit a two-out single to left field off Red Sox (50-35) closer Jonathan Papelbon, Edwin Encarnacion rounded third with the possible tying run.

However, Boston left fielder Darnell McDonald threw a strike to catcher Jason Varitek, who blocked the plate, and the captain was able to put a tag on Encarnacion before he scored. It was an extremely close play (replays showed that he might have swiped the plate) but he was called out and that's all that matters. A walk-off outfield assist. Crazy.

The bigger news of the contest was that Red Sox starter Jon Lester left after four no-hit innings with a left lat injury. He was placed on the DL today and won't be able to return until at least July 22.

Alfredo Aceves will get Lester's scheduled start on Sunday vs. the Orioles, the last game before the All-Star break.

Called to duty earlier than usual, Matt Albers (3-3) threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts for the win. Franklin Morales (seventh) and Daniel Bard (eighth) added scoreless frames before Papelbon did his best to blow it when he was handed a 3-0 lead in the ninth.

He allowed four hits, including a two-run bomb (a rainbow over the Monster) by Blue Jays uber slugger Jose Bautista (his 28th of the season) but was bailed out by McDonald and Varitek to get his 18th save of the season.

Brett Cecil (1-4) went the whole way (eight innings) for Toronto. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Boston pushed across two in the second on Varitek's RBI double which plated David Ortiz and J.D. Drew's RBI single which scored Varitek.

Batting in the cleanup spot-with Kevin Youkilis sitting-Dustin Pedroia hit his eighth homer of the season, a solo laser show in the third. You know that awesome phrase has jumped the shark when not only does NESN use it for his home run calls but also Sportscenter.

Adrian Gonzalez is out of the lineup tonight for the first time this season as Tim Wakefield takes on Ricky Romero who is a very good lefty that seems to always get knocked around by the Red Sox.

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Red Sox unload on the Blue Jays one more time, ride longest win streak in MLB this season

When your favorite baseball team-the Boston Red Sox-wins nine games in a row-the longest streak in MLB this season-and polishes off a three-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays with a 14-1 win yesterday afternoon at the Rogers Centre, it's quite hard to not come off as the biggest honk in the world.

Boston (39-26) outscored Toronto (32-34) 35-6 over the three games. They have the best record in the American League and yesterday's starter Jon Lester (9-2) became the first nine-game winner in the AL. Only the Phillies (40-26) have a better record than the Red Sox. Finally, this is Boston's longest win streak in over two years (11 games, April 15-27 2009).

Lester submitted his best start of the season, going eight innings, allowing one earned run on two hits with a walk and eight strikeouts. For a guy that was really struggling with his control in May, the last two starts (14 innings, 4 earned runs, 16 strikeouts, 2 wins) have been what we've come to expect from baseball best lefty and one of the top starters in all of MLB.

Blue Jays rookie Kyle Drabek (4-5) had the unenviable task of trying to shut down the Red Sox attack that leads MLB in many offensive categories (1st in runs, 1st in batting average, 1st in OBP and 2nd in slugging percentage). He lasted only four innings, allowing eight earned runs on seven hits with four walks and five strikeouts.

When you examine Boston's current stretch of superb play, three hitters stand out above the rest: Jacoby Ellsbury (3 runs, 2 hits), Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) and David Ortiz (4 RBIs, 2 hits, 2 runs). All three of those players are performing at an All-Star level and when you factor in the certainties that Dustin Pedroia (2 runs, 2 RBIs, 2 walks) and Kevin Youkilis (4 RBIs, 3 hits, 3 runs) will heat up more, this lineup is more stacked than Pamela Anderson in her mid-90s prime.

Gonzalez (9 straight games with an RBI) got the Red Sox out to their usual fast start with a solo homer, his 13th of the season, in the first. He added an RBI ground out in the third and Youkilis notched an RBI single for a 3-0 lead.

Jose Bautista hit his MLB-leading 21st homer in the fourth for Toronto's only run, 3-1.

Boston put up some crooked numbers with six runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to make it a complete laugher for the second day in a row.

Pedroia hit a two-run bomb, his fifth of the season, and Ortiz crushed a three-run bomb, his 17th of the season, in the fifth to stretch it to 8-1. Marco Scutaro (2 hits) added an RBI single in the fifth.

The good times continued in the sixth as Youk, Ortiz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia all put up RBI doubles to extend the lead to 12-1.

All that remained was a two-run shot by Youk, his ninth of the season, in the ninth and the fine folks of Toronto went home quietly.

Boston gets today off before beginning a three-game series in Tampa Bay tomorrow night, wrapping up their road trip (which is 6-0 so far) against divisional rivals. Tim Wakefield faces James Shields tomorrow night with the Rays four games behind the Red Sox in the AL East (Tampa Bay has a makeup game tonight in Detroit).

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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.

Does this look like the face of the bozo that leads MLB in blown saves?

Once upon a time Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon was one of the best in baseball at his position.

Those days seem long gone as he continues to scuffle, blowing his AL-leading sixth game yesterday afternoon in Toronto as the Blue Jays (60-54) shocked the Sox (66-50) 6-5 in the series finale at the Rogers Centre.

It's hard to overstate how important this game was: Boston led 5-2 going into the ninth and they had the chance to sweep a pretty decent team on the road and gain half a game on the idle Rays.

For once John Lackey deserved better: he went eight plus innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits with a walk and four strikeouts. With a low pitch count, he went back out to start the ninth but promptly gave up a solo homer to Jose Bautista (who's your dealer bro?).

Enter Papelbon (4-5) who gave up three earned runs on four hits before he was mercifully pulled by Terry Francona.

After Vernon Wells (2 hits) double on the first pitch by Papelbon, Adam Lind (2 hits) singled up the middle to cut it to 5-4. Edwin Encarnacion tied it up with a double down the left field line. After a strikeout and an intentional walk, Daniel Bard came on but Fred Lewis delivered a sacrifice fly which scored Aaron Hill with the winning run.

Against scrub minor leaguer (a spot starter) Brad Mills, the Red Sox teed off. Victor Martinez (2 hits) began the barrage with a sacrifice fly in the third. David Ortiz made it 2-0 in the next at bat with an RBI single.

Toronto got one back in the fourth when a run scored on Lind's double play ball.

Jed Lowrie and Ortiz hit solo shots in the fifth to get Mills out of the game.

Another run scored for the Blue Jays in the sixth on Bautista's double play.

Things looked fine though as Darnell McDonald (2 hits) had an RBI triple in the eighth which scored Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits) to make it 5-2.

Boston wraps up this road trip with three in Texas, beginning with Josh Beckett vs. 9-1 Tommy Hunter tonight. The Rangers are a very good team and it's always though to play in the Texas heat this time of year.

It'll be interesting to see what happens if the Sox find themselves in a save situation tonight. Bard only threw two pitches yesterday while Papelbon labored through 19 that felt like 40. Francona will stay with a player until his arm falls off so don't expect him to do anything drastic for a long time.

New York (who won last night) are six games ahead of Boston and Tampa Bay is four games ahead of the Sox in the AL wild card.