Romero, Blue Jays shut down Red Sox, 3-1

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TORONTO -- For the second straight start this year, Jon Lester was brilliant. And for the second straight start, he was left with nothing to show for his effort.

Lester limited the Toronto Blue Jays to just three runs on three hits over eight innings, but that was two more runs than his teammates could manage off lefty Ricky Romero as the Toronto Blue Jays edged the Red Sox, 3-1.

Romero went 8 13 innings and limited the Sox to just three hits. He walked the first two hitters he faced in the ninth and was lifted for Sergio Santos with the potential tying run in scoring position. But Santos, who blew up in the ninth in the series opener Monday, nailed down the win by getting the two final outs, striking out Kevin Youkilis and getting David Ortiz on a groundout.

Until the Jays tacked on a late run in the bottom of the eighth. Every run in the game came in the third inning. The Red Sox pieced together three singles in the top of the inning with Jacoby Ellsbury snapping a 2-for-21 skid by slicing a single to left, scoring Mike
Aviles from second.

But the Jays quickly countered in the bottom of the inning, using a single by Eric Thames, a wild pitch, a triple from Rajai Davis and a sacrifice fly from Yunel Escobar to score twice.

After Ellsbury's single, Romero, 1-0, retired the next 17 hitters in a row. Lester got on a similar roll, retiring the next 15 Toronto hitters before issuing a two-walk to Davis in
the bottom of the eighth.

Following a stolen base by Davis, Escobar singled to center and the Jays had themselves an insurance run.

Romero came into the game with a career ERA of 7.12 against the Red Sox.

The loss dropped the Red Sox to 1-5, marginally better than their 0-6 mark on the first road trip of last season.

In four of their five losses to date, the Red Sox have scored three runs or fewer and have managed more than four runs only once.

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