It was clear from the get-go that John Lackey was not going to have one of his better games.
After getting out of a two-on, zero-out jam in the first inning, Lackey was not so lucky as the night went on. With a double and a hit batter (his first of three on the night) giving the Blue Jays an identical opportunity in the second, Adam Lind cashed in with a two-run double.
Again, in the fifth, Lackey had a pair of runners on with no outs. Then he loaded the bases, allowed a double, a sac fly, and another double. Six batters into the fifth inning, and Lackey had one out with the Red Sox facing a 6-2 deficit. Michael Bowden, coming in to relieve the beleaguered Red Sox starter, fared no better, allowing a seventh run of Lackey's to come in before offering up three of his own to the Jays an inning later.
Still, the Red Sox were not going to roll over. Fighting back against Toronto starter Brett Cecil, the Sox grabbed three runs back in the sixth behind doubles from Darnell McDonald and Adrian Beltre before feasting on relievers Jesse Carlson and Scott Downs. After a leadoff walk in the eighth inning to Daniel Nava, Victor Martinez jacked his second home run of the night to bring the Sox within four.
Victor would get a shot to give the rally its final push in the ninth, too, after Red Sox youngsters Jed Lowrie, Yamaico Navarro, and again Daniel Nava set up the slugging catcher as the tying run with two outs. Martinez found himself all out of heroics, though, popping out to the shortstop to finish the Blue Jays' 11-9 win.