Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 1
Josh Beckett had another strong outing and Jed Lowrie belted a two-run homer as the Boston Red Sox ended a three-game losing skid Saturday with a 4-1 triumph over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.
Beckett (2-1) was in control from the outset. Saddled with a 7.03 career ERA against the Blue Jays (7-7) entering Saturday, the veteran righthander allowed just a run and three hits over seven innings, striking out nine and walking two. This outing came after he tossed eight scoreless frames against the New York Yankees in a 4-0 win six days ago.
Boston (3-10) put up all the offense it would need in a two-run first inning. Adrian Gonzalez had an RBI single and Kevin Youkilis added a run-scoring double off Toronto starter Jo-Jo Reyes (0-2).
Travis Snider swatted an RBI single to cut the deficit in the second, but Lowrie responded in the bottom half with a two-run shot over the Green Monster for his first homer of the campaign.
Daniel Bard pitched a scoreless eighth and Jonathan Papelbon worked around a Youkilis error at third in the ninth for his second save.
Lowrie finished with three hits and a pair of runs scored for the Red Sox, who gave prized free-agent acquisition Carl Crawford the day off. The speedy outfielder is batting just .137 for the season and was booed in Friday's series opener.
Reyes needed 84 pitches to complete his three-plus inning stint, being tagged for four runs on seven hits. He walked five and struck out three.