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Stroman flirts with no-no; Jays down BoSox

Jul 24, 2014 - 11:49 PM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Marcus Stroman carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Juan Francisco ended a double shy of the cycle, as Toronto downed Boston, 8-0, Thursday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

Stroman (6-2) allowed just one hit, walked two and struck out seven over seven scoreless innings for the Blue Jays, who won the final three games of this four-game set. The right-handed rookie has won consecutive starts and improved to 3-0 over his last six trips to the mound.

Francisco went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and drove in four runs for Toronto, which has won five of six overall. The double he couldn't find, was hit three times by Melky Cabrera, who ended 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Dioner Navarro added two hits and walked twice for the Blue Jays, who pounded out 14 hits to end a seven-game homestand 5-2.

Boston's Shane Victorino broke up the no-hit bid to lead off the seventh inning. He finished 1-for-3 with a walk as the Red Sox fell to 1-3 on their current seven-game road trip.

After retiring 11 straight following a one-out, third-inning walk, Stroman surrendered a lead-off hit to Victorino. The bloop hit to center, though, didn't result in any damage, as Stroman got David Ortiz to fly out to left and then induced a double-play ground out by Mike Napoli to end the inning.

"He pitched a hell of a game today," said Navarro, the catcher.

Todd Redmond and Rob Rasmussen completed the one-hitter for Toronto, which has won seven of 10 from Boston this season. Rasmussen did walk a pair of batters, but stranded a runner at third when he got Victorino to ground into a double play and then got Jonny Gomes to fly out to end the game.

Gomes came on to hit for Ortiz in the middle of the at-bat, as Ortiz left the game with an apparent back injury after a check swing.

"He felt some spasms in the upper middle of his back," said Boston manager John Farrell of Ortiz. "Right now, he is day to day."

Toronto got going in the first inning when Cabrera scored on a passed ball and added two more runs in the second off Boston starter Rubby De La Rosa.

Francisco started the inning with a triple and scored on Ryan Goins double that followed. Goins later scored on Cabrera's two-base hit for a 3-0 edge.

Francisco's two-run homer in the third increased the hosts' lead to five and his two-run single in the fifth made it a seven-run cushion.

Francisco had a chance to be the first Blue Jays hitter since 2001 to hit for the cycle in the seventh, but he flew out to left.

De La Rosa (3-3) suffered the loss, allowing seven runs -- six earned -- on nine hits in four-plus innings. It was the right-hander's first setback since June 11.

Cabrera rounded out the scoring with an RBI double in the eighth.

Game Notes

Stroman last lost on June 17, going 3-0 in six starts since then ... Francisco has 15 HRs this season, three shy of his career high. This marked the fourth time he has driven in four runs in a game in his career. His career high RBI in a game is five ... Boston ends its seven-game road trip with three games in Tampa starting Friday ... Toronto begins a 10-game road trip Friday in New York against the Yankees.