Red Sox 10, Blue Jays 4: A Comfortable Win

After grabbing a comeback win in a tense Game 2, the Red Sox cruised to victory over the Blue Jays Wednesday, esentially putting the game away early on with a six-run first.

Coming out wild, Ricky Romero threw 13 of his first 16 pitches for balls, allowing the Sox to make up for an early run allowed by Jon Lester before an out was recorded with a Daniel Nava walk and Dustin Pedroia double. With another walk--this one to David Ortiz--and a single from Cody Ross, the Sox had the bases loaded, bringing Adrian Gonzalez to the plate. When his ground ball went right towards Edwin Encarnacion and then right under his glove for a two-base, two-run error, it was clear that this was going to be one of those days.

The Sox would get six runs in the inning after a Will Middlebrooks groundout and singles from Mike Aviles and Darnell McDonald. While the Red Sox wouldn't need any more, they'd still grab a few here and there, including David Ortiz picking up homer no. 399 in the fifth inning after starting the game with three walks.

All-in-all, it was a 10-run, 10-hit, seven-walk attack from the Red Sox, which saw every starter but the apparently slumping Will Middlebrooks reach base at least once. Dustin Pedroia only managed the leadoff double, but generally looked good, while Adrian Gonzalez added a single and double to his error-gifted two bases in the first.

Unfortunately, it was not an excellent day for Jon Lester, who allowed the run in the first on a leadoff double and ground ball single, as well as a pair of homers; a solo shot to Jose Bautista in the fourth, and a two-run shot to Edwin Encarnacion in the sixth put a significant damper on a day that saw some long streaks of outs from the lefty starter.

Winners of 12-of-15, the Sox are gaining on the real contenders in a hurry. If the Royals can pull off the win today, they'll be tied for third.