Toronto 7, Boston 5
When: 7:10 PM ET, Friday, September 7, 2012
Where: Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Temperature:
77°
Umpires:
Home -
Jeff Nelson, 1B -
Bill Welke, 2B -
Clint Fagan, 3B -
Chris Guccione
Attendance:
37156
By SportsDirect Inc.
Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 5: Edwin Encarnacion belted his 38th homer and Henderson Alvarez tossed 6 1/3 solid innings to snap a five-game losing skid as visiting Toronto claimed the series opener between the struggling American League East rivals.
Moises Sierra and Colby Rasmus launched two-run homers and Rajai Davis made a brilliant catch just in front of the Green Monster in the seventh inning to start a double play. Yunel Escobar added an RBI single for the Blue Jays, who have won two in a row following a four-game slide to pull into a tie with the Red Sox in the division cellar.
After a 1-hour, 18-minute rain delay, Toronto wasted little time jumping on starter Felix Doubront (10-8). Encarnacion's sacrifice fly plated the returning Brett Lawrie to open the scoring in the first inning before doubling the advantage in the third by belting a low changeup just over the Green Monster. The blast put Encarnacion one behind Texas' Josh Hamilton for the major-league lead.
Sierra kept Doubront and the Red Sox reeling after launching his fourth homer off the light stanchion over the Green Monster in left-center field.
Alvarez (8-12) ended his losing skid after yielding two runs on four hits. Three relievers were able to keep Boston at bay to preserve the victory.
Mauro Gomez celebrated his 28th birthday by homering and driving in three runs. Dustin Pedroia also went deep for the Red Sox, who have dropped nine of their last 10.
Doubront suffered his fourth straight loss after permitting five runs on six hits in four innings.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Toronto LHP J.A. Happ will miss the remainder of the season with a fractured right foot. Happ, who was slated to start Saturday's contest, had an MRI exam and a CAT scan that showed the fracture after X-rays were negative. Aaron Laffey is expected to draw the start on Saturday. ... Doubront has allowed at least one homer in four consecutive starts. ... Blue Jays C J.P. Arencibia (hand) and Lawrie (ribs) returned from the disabled list. ... Rasmus led off the fifth inning with his fifth triple of the season. ... Reliever Daniel Bard has allowed nine homers in 14 games with the Red Sox.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Toronto
|
8 |
3 |
20 |
.235 |
10 |
11 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
| Boston
|
7 |
2 |
14 |
.212 |
13 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
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