TORONTO (AP) — Mauro Gomez hit a tiebreaking, two-run triple in the ninth inning and the Boston Red Sox beat Toronto 8-5 on Friday night, snapping their six-game losing streak against the Blue Jays.
Boston had lost six of seven overall coming in, but bounced back after falling behind 3-0 and later blowing a 5-3 lead.
Ryan Lavarnway hit a three-run homer and finished with four RBIs for the Red Sox. Daniel Nava had a two-run single and made a fantastic diving catch in left field in the eighth to preserve a 5-all tie.
Chris Carpenter (1-0) got two outs for his first major league win and Andrew Bailey closed it out for his third save in four chances.
Darren Oliver (3-3) lost for the first time since May 23 at Tampa Bay, giving up one run and two hits in one-plus inning.
Jacoby Ellsbury singled off Oliver to begin the ninth, bringing Casey Janssen out of the bullpen. Mike Aviles flied out and Cody Ross singled before Gomez tripled to the wall in right-center. Lavarnway followed with a sacrifice fly.
The Blue Jays took the lead by scoring three times off Daisuke Matsuzaka in the third, all without a hit. Moises Sierra was hit by a pitch and Anthony Gose and Colby Rasmus walked to load the bases. Sierra and Gose both scored on wild pitches before Rasmus came home on Adam Lind’s groundout.
Boston tied it in the fourth on Lavarnway’s homer, his second, and took a 5-3 lead on Nava’s two-run single off reliever Chad Jenkins in the fifth.
Aviles, who scored on Nava’s hit, had escaped two batters earlier by evading a tag attempt from third baseman Brett Lawrie. Aviles was at second when Gomez grounded to third. Lawrie tried to tag Aviles, but he spun around, then scampered to the bag ahead of Lawrie as Gomez also reached safely. Lavarnway walked before Nava lined his tiebreaking single.
Lind tripled to chase Matsuzaka in the sixth, and Yunel Escobar followed with an RBI single off Clayton Mortensen, cutting it to 5-4.
Junichi Tazawa worked a scoreless seventh but Vicente Padilla couldn’t preserve the win for Matsuzaka, surrendering a leadoff single to Rasmus in the eighth and giving up a game-tying double to Lawrie. Nava followed with a diving catch on Lind’s liner to left, keeping Lawrie at second base, before Carpenter came on to finish the inning.
Toronto’s Aaron Laffey gave up three runs and four hits in 3 2-3 innings, his shortest start of the season, and remains winless in five starts.
Jason Frasor pitched the sixth and seventh for Toronto, the 500th appearance of his Blue Jays career.
NOTES: Toronto slugger Edwin Encarnacion was held out of the lineup with a sore left wrist. He was hit by a pitch from Seattle ace Felix Hernandez in Thursday’s win over the Mariners. He is expected to play Saturday. … Blue Jays pitching coach Bruce Walton, who had to leave the bench after being struck by Edwin Encarnacion’s broken bat in the first inning Thursday, was back in the dugout Friday. Walton sustained bruises but avoided cuts and broken bones after he was hit by the barrel of Encarnacion’s broken maple bat. … Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia missed his second straight game following the birth of his second son and is expected to rejoin the team sometime this weekend, manager Bobby Valentine said. … Boston RHP John Lackey (elbow surgery) felt good after a 25-pitch bullpen session and will likely throw another next week, Valentine said. Lackey is aiming for a two-inning stint in an instructional league game before season’s end.
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