TORONTODaniel Nava led the Red Sox offense while Clay Buchholz held the Toronto offense at bay Friday night at Rogers Centre, as the Sox beat the Blue Jays, 7-2.
Nava went 4-for-5 with three doubles, three runs scored, and an RBI. He now has a five-game hit streak and has reached base safely in 20 of his 22 games since being called up May 10.
Buchholz went eight innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. He improved his record to 5-2, dropping his ERA from 7.19 to 6.58.
The Jays two runs off Buchholz both came on solo home runs with two outs. In the third Yunel Escobar hit his third home run of the season, and in the seventh David Cooper hit his first.
Jose Bautista accounted for three of Buchholzs strikeouts. Buchholz retired the Jays slugger in the first and third innings, swinging at 94-mph fastballs. In the seventh, Bautista was caught looking at a curveball.
Buchholz retired the side in order on strikeouts in the seventh, Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, looking at curveballs, and Colby Rasmus swinging at a 94-mph fastball.
Buchholz had three baserunners before even allowing his first hit. In the first, Kelly Johnson led offs, reaching base on catchers interference called on Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Yunel Escobar followed reaching base on Mike Aviles error at shortstop. But Buchholz struck out Bautista and got Edwin Encarnacion to ground into a double play to end the inning.
Boston Red Sox
Buchholz opened the second by hitting Colby Rasmus with a pitch, but retired the next three batters.
Buchholz entered the game with a 1.62 career ERA at Rogers Centre, his best ERA at any American League park. He increased that slightly to 1.71 over eight starts, spanning 52 13 innings.
Scott Atchison pitched a scoreless ninth to close the game.
David Ortiz started the scoring for the Sox with lead-off home run in the second, his 13th of the season. It was the 391st of his career.
Nava grounded out in his first at-bat, then reached base and scored in his next three. Nava, Adrian Gonzalez, and Ortiz combined to go 9-for-13, with five runs scored, five RBI, a walk and two strikeouts.
Henderson Alvarez took the loss for the Jays, falling to 3-5 with a 3.75 ERA. Alvarez, who had given up just one earned run in two previous starts spanning 12 innings, went 6 13 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts and a home run.
Alvarez took a hard shot by Mike Aviles off the inside of his left shin in the fifth but stayed in the game.