BOSTON
Edwin Encarnacion continued his torrid run through May, which is only two-thirds over.
Encarnacion hit a pair of two-run homers for Toronto as the Blue Jays took a big lead early and held on to beat the slumping Boston Red Sox 7-4 on Tuesday night.
Encarnacion has hit nine of his 11 homers this season this month, which has 10 days left.
Melky Cabrera and Erik Kratz also homered for the Blue Jays, who won for the sixth time in eight games and extended Boston’s losing streak to five straight.
J.A. Happ (3-1) struck out six in the first three innings and picked up his third win in four starts since joining the rotation.
Jonny Gomes hit a tworun homer for Boston. The losing streak is the longest for the Red Sox since 2012.
Casey Janssen picked up his fourth save, with a rocky ninth inning. Dustin Pedroia and Shane Victorino led off the ninth with consecutive singles. David Ortiz nearly tied it with a long fly ball that drifted foul, and then struck out. Janssen got Mike Napoli to ground into a double play to end it.
Encarnacion hit a two-run homer in the third and Kratz added a solo shot in the fourth off Felix Doubront (2- 4), who left the game after Jose Reyes and Cabrera opened the fifth with backto back doubles. The Red Sox said Doubront complained of fatigue in his left shoulder.
“This is the first night he’s felt this to this extent. His stuff was diminishing even in the early innings, particularly between the fourth and fifth,” Boston manager John Farrell said.
Edward Mujica replaced Doubront and struck out Jose Bautista, but Encarnacion followed with a towering shot to left for his second two-run homer of the night and Toronto led 6-0.
Boston scored twice in the fifth, and then Cabrera added a solo shot to left in the sixth.
Happ started the sixth but was pulled after Gomes’ tworun homer cut Toronto’s lead to 7-4. He allowed four runs on seven hits and struck out six.
Napoli led off the sixth with a single and Gomes followed with a homer that bounced off the top of the Green Monster. Crew chief Gary Cederstrom needed only about 30 seconds to review the video before confirming it was a home run, pulling Boston within 7-4.
Boston is on its longest skid since losing the last eight games of the 2012 season. The Red Sox were 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base.
“We’re in a little rut right now but we’ll find a way to get out of it,” Pedroia said.
• Who: Toronto Blue Jays
at Boston Red Sox.
• Where: Fenway Park.
• When: 7:10 p.m. tonight.
• Starting pitchers:
Toronto (Drew Hutchinson
2-3) vs. Boston (Clay
Buchholz 2-3).
• TV: NESN.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
