TORONTO—The Boston Red Sox took out their recent frustrations on Toronto by bashing the Blue Jays 14-0 for a morale-boosting victory on Tuesday.

The Red Sox dominated at the plate and on the mound where pitcher Jon Lester helped halt their slide in the American League East and recover from an 11-inning 1-0 shutout loss to the Blue Jays the previous night.

“(This) was a night we needed,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona told reporters. “We scored early and we kept at them. Lester threw a bunch of strikes. We spread it out.”

Boston ace Josh Beckett had to exit Monday’s loss with an ankle sprain that will force him to miss his next start, but Lester picked up the slack with an 11-strikeout performance in his seven innings of work.

The left-hander allowed just three hits and walked one batter to earn his 15th win of the season.

The Red Sox jumped on the Blue Jays (70-72) as they tallied at least two runs in each of the first five innings to punish the home team and make it an easy night for Lester.

“It definitely helps makes you feel more comfortable out there (when you have a lead),” Lester said.

“The more runs we score, I wouldn’t say the easier it is to pitch, but the pressure of having to make perfect pitches is off your shoulders.”

Marco Scutaro recorded four hits and four RBIs while David Ortiz also added four of Boston’s 20 hits.

AL batting leader Adrian Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs as Boston abused Toronto starter Luis Perez, who allowed eight runs in less than three innings.

The Red Sox (85-56), who had lost four of their previous five contests, maintained their pursuit of the division-leading New York Yankees while strengthening their hold on the AL wildcard berth. — Reuters

(09-07 14:15)
The Boston Red Sox took out their recent frustrations on Toronto by bashing the Blue Jays 14-0 for a morale-boosting victory in the major leagues.

The Red Sox dominated at the plate and on the mound where pitcher Jon Lester, pictured, helped halt their slide in the American League East and recover from an 11-inning 1-0 shutout loss to the Blue Jays the previous night.

“(This) was a night we needed,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “We scored early and we kept at them. Lester threw a bunch of strikes. We spread it out.”

Boston ace Josh Beckett had to exit Tuesday’s loss with an ankle sprain that will force him to miss his next start, but Lester picked up the slack with an 11-strikeout performance in his seven innings of work.

The left-hander allowed just three hits and walked one batter to earn his 15th win of the season.

The Red Sox jumped on the Blue Jays (70-72) as they tallied at least two runs in each of the first five innings to punish the home team and make it an easy night for Lester.

“It definitely helps makes you feel more comfortable out there (when you have a lead),” Lester said.

Marco Scutaro recorded four hits and four RBIs while David Ortiz also added four of Boston’s 20 hits.

AL batting leader Adrian Gonzalez went three-for-five with three runs and two RBIs as Boston abused Toronto starter Luis Perez, who allowed eight runs in less than three innings.

The Red Sox (85-56), who had lost four of their previous five contests, maintained their pursuit of the division-leading New York Yankees while strengthening their hold on the AL wildcard berth.

REUTERS

   

The Boston Red Sox took
out their recent frustrations on Toronto by bashing the
Blue Jays 14-0 for an uplifting victory on Tuesday.

The Red Sox dominated at the plate and on the mound where
pitcher Jon Lester helped halt their slide in the American
League East and recover from an 11-inning 1-0 shutout loss to
the Blue Jays the previous night.

Boston ace Josh Beckett had to exit Monday’s loss with an
ankle injury, but Lester (15-6) picked up the slack with an
11-strike-out performance in his seven innings.

The Red Sox jumped on the Blue Jays (70-72) as they tallied
at least two runs in each of the first five innings to punish
the home team.

Marco Scutaro recorded four hits and four RBIs while David
Ortiz also added four of Boston’s 20 hits on the night.

The Red Sox (85-56), who had lost four of their previous
five coming in to the night, are now within two games of the
division-leading New York Yankees.

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Jacoby Ellsbury hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the sixth inning, Josh Beckett improved to 4-0 against the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox came from behind for a 9-5 win over New York tonight.

The Red Sox, who lost the series opener 5-2 on Tuesday night, extended their AL East lead over the Yankees to 1.5 games and improved their record to 11-3 this season against their division rivals.

David Ortiz and Jason Varitek also hit two-run homers for Boston.

The Yankees scored four runs in the sixth off Beckett (12-5) — the same amount they managed in his other 32 innings against them this season — and went ahead 5-4.

But in the bottom of the inning, Phil Hughes (4-5) allowed three runs, capped by Ellsbury’s 24th homer.