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Toronto strikes early, hangs on to defeat Boston

Jul 5, 2011 - 12:19 AM Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Aaron Hill went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI to lead a powerful offensive surge as the Toronto Blue Jays bested the Boston Red Sox, 9-7, in the opener of a three-game set.

Travis Snider legged out three doubles and added two RBI for the Blue Jays, who pushed seven runs across the plate over the first three innings.

Behind the early cushion, Brandon Morrow (5-4) lasted five-plus innings, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks while fanning five.

John Lackey (5-8) was victimized for seven runs on nine hits over just 2 1/3 innings, as the Red Sox saw a four-game win streak come to an end.

"Overall, my arm felt pretty good," said Lackey. "Probably one of the better it has felt as far as velocity and stuff like that. I just didn't locate well enough."

Jacoby Ellsbury and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each had two-run triples to spark a surge, as Boston pushed across four runs in the fifth and three runs in the eighth.

The comeback fell short, however, and Frank Francisco struck out the final three batters of the game to earn his 10th save of the season.

Rajai Davis began the game with a harbinger, rocking a double to left. He then stole third and scurried home when Kevin Youkilis couldn't haul in the throw from Saltalamacchia.

Hill homered with one down in the second and Snider followed with a double, crossing the plate two batters later on John McDonald's single, giving the Jays a 3-0 lead.

Eric Thames, Jose Bautista and Adam Lind laced three consecutive singles to start the third, with Thames scoring on Lind's shot to center.

Two batters later, Hill singled home Bautista, and Snider followed with a two- run double, extending the lead to seven and chasing Lackey from the game.

"The third inning was probably as good an inning as we have put together all year," said Blue Jays manager John Farrell.

With two-down in the fifth, the Red Sox finally awoke, as J.D. Drew singled and Marco Scutaro walked ahead of Ellsbury's triple to right.

Ellsbury scored on a passed ball during Dustin Pedroia's walk and Adrian Gonzalez brought home Pedroia with a double to left, making it a 7-4 game.

Lind scored on a fielding error by Yamaico Navarro in the seventh and Davis' double in the eighth plated McDonald, as the Blue Jays padded their cushion.

The runs would prove essential, as Navarro led off the home half of the eighth with a single and David Ortiz's ground rule double placed runners at second and third. Saltalamacchia followed two batters later with a triple to left and then scored on Drew's sacrifice fly to left.

Game Notes

Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Josh Beckett and Jacoby Ellsbury will represent the Red Sox in the All-Star game, while Jose Bautista -- who received a record 7,454,753 votes -- will represent the Blue Jays...Lackey has dropped three straight starts.