Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 6
Fred Lewis' RBI sacrifice fly capped a four-run ninth inning as the Toronto Blue Jays avoided a three-game sweep with a 6-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday afternoon.
Trailing 5-2 in the ninth inning, the Blue Jays rallied against a trio of Boston pitchers.
Jose Bautista led off the inning with his league-leading 36th home run off Red Sox starter John Lackey. The right-hander was removed in favor of closer Jonathan Papelbon, who promptly allowed three straight hits as the Jays reduced the deficit to one.
After Travis Snider struck out, Edwin Encarnacion belted a double to left field that brought home DeWayne Wise with the tying run. Lyle Overbay was walked intentionally and Papelbon was yanked for Daniel Bard, who surrendered Lewis' game-winning sac fly to center.
Kevin Gregg (1-0) earned the victory with an inning of scoreless relief. Papelbon (0-1) blew his sixth save of the season.
Jed Lowrie and David Ortiz homered in defeat for the Red Sox, who lost for just the third time in 12 meetings with the Jays in 2010.
The loss spoiled a strong outing from Lackey, who allowed three runs on eight hits over eight-plus innings. He struck out four and walked just one.
Toronto starter Brad Mills was less sharp, tagged for four runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out seven.