Garrett Crochet pitched eight scoreless innings, Carlos Narvaez hit a three-run home run and the visiting Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 7-1 on Wednesday night.
Crochet (18-5) allowed three hits and no walks while striking out six to lower his ERA to 2.59.
Masataka Yoshida added a solo homer and an RBI double while Trevor Story contributed three hits to help the Red Sox (87-71) to their second straight win to open the three-game series. Romy Gonzalez had two hits and two RBIs.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa homered for Toronto in the ninth against Payton Tolle.
The Blue Jays (90-68) have lost six of their last games. They began the day with a one-game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East.
The Red Sox have won four of five as they close in on a postseason berth. The Blue Jays have clinched a playoff spot.
Boston scored three runs in the first inning against Max Scherzer (5-5). Story looped a single to left and took third on Alex Bregman’s single to right. Yoshida dumped an RBI double into the right-field corner and Gonzalez knocked a two-run single to left.
Crochet pitched around Ernie Clement’s double in the bottom of the first.
Yoshida led off the fifth with a blast to right on an 0-1 fastball for his third homer of the season.
Scherzer allowed four runs, 10 hits and no walks while striking out five in five innings before Brendon Little took over to toss a perfect sixth.
Toronto’s Jose Berrios entered in the seventh to make his first relief appearance since being sent to the bullpen from the starting rotation in a move looking forward to the postseason. Berrios started his first relief appearance since 2017 with a perfect inning with one strikeout.
In the eighth, however, Berrios allowed a single to Gonzalez, a walk to Ceddanne Rafaela and the 15th homer of the season by Narvaez, a shot to right with two out.
Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was ejected in the bottom of the seventh for arguing about a called third strike. Hitting coach David Popkins was also ejected.
Toronto’s Anthony Santander returned to the lineup for the first time since late May after missing nearly four months with left shoulder inflammation. He was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
