Payton Tolle pitched a two-hitter over eight innings, Caleb Durbin hit a grand slam and the visiting Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0 on Thursday afternoon.
Durbin’s second career bases-loaded homer broke open a tight 1-0 game in the eighth inning to help the Red Sox salvage the finale of the four-game series and end a five-game losing streak.
Durbin finished with three hits and five RBIs.
Tolle (8-6) retired the final 17 batters he faced. The left-hander allowed no walks while striking out four.
Boston scored a run against Max Scherzer (1-5) in the first. Wilyer Abreu walked with two out and sprinted home on a double to right-center by Willson Contreras that split the outfielders. The inning was the 3,000th pitched by Scherzer.
The Blue Jays had the leadoff batter reach base in each of the first three innings — two walks and a single — but Tolle used two double plays to avoid damage.
Scherzer retired nine in a row before Masataka Yoshida singled with two out in the fourth. The inning continued when Andres Gimenez bobbled Durbin’s grounder to shortstop and Jarren Duran walked to load the bases. Andruw Monasterio flied out to right to end the threat.
Scherzer allowed one run, three hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings.
Ceddanne Rafaela opened the eighth with an infield hit to first when he beat reliever Chase Lee to the bag and took second on Abreu’s single. The runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Contreras, and Yoshida was intentionally walked.
Durbin slammed a 1-0 sweeper over the wall in left to give Boston a 5-0 lead.
Toronto’s Lazaro Estrada, recalled from Triple-A Buffalo with Brendon Little going on the paternity list, walked Nick Sogard to open the ninth. He hit Rafaela with a pitch and walked Abreu to load the bases. Yoshida hit a sacrifice fly to deep center and Durbin poked an RBI single to left.
Boston put reliever Garrett Whitlock on the injured list with right elbow inflammation. Reliever Greg Weissert was recalled from Triple-A Worcester and pitched around a walk in the ninth on Thursday.
