By Maureen Mullen
CSNNE.comFollow @maureenamullen
BOSTONJohn Lackey was in line for his 13th win Wednesday, before Daniel Bards eighth-inning implosion. Instead Lackey took a no-decision, and Bard took the blown save and loss, as the Red Sox fell to the Blue Jays, 5-4.
For Lackey, it was his fourth straight start without a win. He left with a tenuous one-run lead after 5 13 innings, giving way to lefty Franklin Morales with one out and a runner on third. Morales got out of the inning, holding the lead.
Lackey gave up two runs facing seven batters in the first. The Blue Jays failed to capitalize and several hard-hit balls were right at Sox fielders. Lackey held the Jays to two runs on seven hits and walk with four strikeouts. He also hit a batter, extending his major league lead to 19.
In the first inning, he struck out Jays lead-off batter Mike McCoy swinging at a curveball before giving up a single to Eric Thames and walking Jose Bautista. After Adam Lindwho entered the game batting .565 (13-for-23) against Lackeyflied out to Jacoby Ellsbury in center, consecutive singles by Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson gave the Jays a 2-0 lead before Brett Lawrie grounded out to end the inning.
The Jays threatened in the fifth, putting runners at the corner with one out. But they could not get any more runs off Lackey as Encarnacion lined out to Carl Crawford in left and Johnson grounded out to end the inning.
The first inning, an 0-2 pitch I gave up a hit on was pretty much the only pitch Id give back, Lackey said. Johnson, jammed him for another run. After that I was pretty much just going with catcher Jason Varitek, mixing it up pretty well, locating my fastball pretty decent.
Boston Red Sox
It was Lackeys fourth start against the Jays this season. He is 1-2, giving up 22 earned runs in 20 13 innings for a 9.74 ERA
Just trying to change patterns and locate better, Lackey said of his approach to a team that has seen him so often. I think I did that pretty decent today.
Early two runs. After that a bunch of zeroes, manager Terry Francona said. He got some line outs but he managed to keep it right where it was. Got a huge out before we got to Morales. At the time that was a big swing in the game. Used his fastball aggressively. High pitch count, mostly came early. When he left we had a chance to win that game.
But Bards three-run eighth inning took that away.
Varitek and Lawrie had a rough collision at the plate in the sixth inning when Lawrie attempted to score on Adam Loewens grounder to Dustin Pedroia. Varitek held on for the out, but nobody wins those kinds of dust-ups he said.
You dont win those battles in my position, he said. Thankfully, Pedey gave a good throw and allowed to stay in there and absorb the hit.
Varitek, though, had little time to prepare for the collision.
You have to just try and stay in there, to be honest with you, he said. Thats all you can really do.
Jacoby Ellsbury went 1-for-4 with a triple, extending his hitting streak to 18 games. He is batting .377, going 29-for-77 in that stretch with 11 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 13 RBI, 16 runs scored, and nine walks. The streak is tied for the third-longest of his career and second-longest this season behind a 19-gamer from April 21May 10. Since 1919, the only other Sox batter with at least four single-season streaks of 18 or more games is Nomar Garciaparra.
Adrian Gonzalezs home run into the Sox bullpen leading off the sixth inning was his 26th of the season and the first at Fenway since July 7. It was his third home run off a left-handed pitcher this season and first since hitting one off Oaklands Brett Anderson on June 5. It was his 16th extra-base hit against the Blue Jays this season, tying him with David Ortiz in 2004 and Ellsbury this season for most ever.
Gonzalez left the game in the seventh with left calf tightness. He said he should be available Thursday.
I hope so, he said. The calf tightened up on me pretty good so hopefully come in tomorrow feeling pretty good.
Definitely not a hydration thing. I did it on the at-bat where I hit the ground ball past the pitcher and came in after that inning on defense, I told them that my calf was pretty tight, played a couple innings on defense and it was pretty tight and when I was rounding the bases it got worse as I kept going. They didn't want me to keep going out there and making it worse. Better play it safe than sorry I guess.
Jonathan Papelbons perfect ninth inning extended his scoreless innings streak to 21.0 over 20 games with 25 strikeouts. It is the second-longest single-season streak of his career and one inning shy of his longest in 2006.
Maureen Mullen is on Twitter at http:twitter.commaureenamullen.