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Steve Pearce helps Toronto Blue Jays to 4-3 win over Boston Red Sox

By Mike Shalin, The Sports Xchange
Toronto Blue Jays' Steve Pearce reaches base safely. File photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Toronto Blue Jays' Steve Pearce reaches base safely. File photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

BOSTON -- With the season pretty much hanging in the balance, the last thing the Toronto Blue Jays needed was to blow another game on Monday night.

They almost did.

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Almost.

"(Momentum) went right back to us. We responded great," Steve Pearce said after the Jays gave up three runs and the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning but then, thanks to an RBI single by Pearce, took the lead right back in the eighth and held on for a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

The Jays, tied for fourth place in the American League East with the Baltimore Orioles, blew a three-run lead and lost in the 11th inning at Detroit on Sunday. However, a day later, they managed to win in their first game at Fenway Park this season.

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"It was a good bounce-back day," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

Down 3-0 against Toronto ace Marcus Stroman, the first-place Red Sox (52-42) rallied in the seventh with the help of Stroman's error. The pitcher failed to touch first base on a flip from Justin Smoak, making all three runs unearned.

The inning ended when Mookie Betts ran through a stop sign on Dustin Pedroia's game-tying double and was thrown out at the plate -- center fielder Kevin Pillar to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to catcher Russell Martin.

"That's as good a relay throw as you can make," Gibbons said. "We've got guys that are good defenders. Tulo is still one of the best in the game. Especially when it comes on a play when you cough it up, that feels really good."

Stroman allowed just the three unearned runs in 6 2/3 innings.

With many Blue Jays fans in attendance, Toronto (43-49) won for only the second time in seven tries against the Red Sox this season.

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Pedroia came through on the only pitch thrown by reliever Dominic Leone, who had just been called up from the minors. Red Sox manager John Farrell, whose team is struggling offensively, didn't fault Betts for trying to steal the go-ahead run.

"It's an easy question or second-guess, but off the bat, that ball is clearly going to be off the wall," Farrell said. "In Mookie's mind, he was dead set on trying to score.

"It's a carom that ends up right, pretty much stomach height, to Pillar. He makes a good relay throw, and then Tulowitzki throws a strike from 140 feet. It was an aggressive play, and I thought a very good play. As good a baserunner as Mookie is and as fast as he is, we forced them to execute a flawless play, which they did."

Betts had followed a sacrifice fly by Brock Holt with a run-scoring single -- his 14th RBI of the season against Toronto.

In the top of the eighth, Smoak (single, two walks) draw a walk, and he went to third on Kendrys Morales' third hit. Pearce came through to break the tie.

Pearce hit his first career Fenway home run in the second inning to make it 3-0 after Morales belted a two-run double off Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez in the first.

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Rodriguez was making his first major league appearance since sustaining a knee injury on June 1. He allowed three runs on six hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings, and he struck out eight.

"I thought with the layoff that Eddie had that was a strong five-plus innings of work here tonight," Farrell said. "He kept us in this ballgame, we make a run to tie it, and unfortunately they push across the difference-maker the following inning."

Ryan Tepera (5-1) worked a perfect eighth and was given credit for the win after Leone surrendered the lead against the only batter he faced. The Jays were surprised when they found out about the scoring decision.

"I saw that," a smiling Tempera said. "I thought it was a mistake."

Roberto Osuna pitched a perfect ninth for his 23rd save.

Andrew Benintendi had two hits and a walk for the Red Sox, who, according to Farrell, are likely to face a bit of a lineup shuffle to try to get the offense going.

NOTES: The Red Sox's protest over what they thought should have been an interference call against the New York Yankees' Matt Holliday on Saturday was denied by MLB. "No, not surprised because there's a series of factors that are weighed in this," Boston manager John Farrell said. "I'm a little disappointed that this is not a reviewable play, so when the umpires went to the headset the other night, it was for rules interpretation, it wasn't to review the play." ... Plate umpire Chris Segal was conked on the head by a bat that slipped out of Josh Donaldson's hands in the first inning. He stayed in the game. ... Toronto LHP J.A. Happ faces Boston LHP Brian Johnson on Tuesday night as the Red Sox have pushed their starters back a day and LHP Chris Sale out of the series and into the opener of the coming road trip. The change was caused by RHP Doug Fister having to work in relief in a 16-inning game on Saturday. Fister goes Wednesday. ... The Jays designated RHP Lucas Harrell for assignment to make room for RHP Dominic Leone.

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