Blue Jays' big bats pound Kelly, Red Sox
TORONTO -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer and Josh Donaldson had three hits, an RBI and a pair of runs scored to lead the Blue Jays to a 7-1 victory over the Red Sox on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre.
Right-hander Drew Hutchison picked up his third victory after allowing one run over five innings. Hutchison had multiple runners on base in three of those innings, but he survived by limiting Boston to just one hit in seven at-bats with men in scoring position.
Toronto six of its runs against right-hander Joe Kelly, who has allowed at least five runs in four consecutive starts. Kelly struggled with his command, setting a career high with seven walks. A hanging curveball to Encarnacion in the fourth gave the Blue Jays all the breathing room they would need, as the slugger walloped a three-run shot to left.
"Our lineup is really deep," said Donaldson, who has 14 multihit games. "We have some guys in the lineup that can bang a little bit, but just up and down there are guys who are constantly putting good at-bats together. If you do that over the course of nine innings, we feel like we're going to get to the pitcher eventually."
Video: BOS@TOR: Donaldson scores Colabello with a single
Boston's record (13-17) continued to plummet as the club has lost all but one of its eight games this month and held a team meeting after the game. Toronto has been going in the opposite direction, with wins in four of its last five games and is one game over .500 (16-15).
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Kelly walks three in the first: Kelly's start got off on the wrong foot as he walked three in the first and spotted the Blue Jays an early 1-0 lead. The right-hander walked two more in the second and would issue a career-high seven free passes over 5 2/3 innings, three of which came around to score. More >
Video: BOS@TOR: Kelly fans Martin with the bases loaded
Encarnacion heating up: Encarnacion broke the game wide open in the fourth with his three-run homer. It was Encarnacion's fifth home run and continued a trend that has seen the veteran first baseman heat up over the last week. He has at least one hit in seven of his eight games this month to raise his average to .239 after hitting .202 in April. More >
"I've been seeing the ball better, I've been making the adjustment and looking for my pitch," Encarnacion said. "I haven't been swinging at too many pitches out of the strike zone and I've been looking for my pitch and I haven't been missing it."
Hutchison survives another scare: The fifth has been a nightmare for Hutchison and it nearly became one again. He allowed a one-out double to Mookie Betts and an RBI single to Dustin Pedroia before eventually loading the bases. He escaped the jam by getting Mike Napoli to hit a weak fly ball to right field as Boston's recent woes with runners in scoring position continued. Hutchison has allowed 12 earned runs in the fifth this year and has made it past the fifth in just two of his seven starts. More >
Video: BOS@TOR: Hutchison fans six, gets the win
"For his year, where he's at, I thought it was huge that he gets over that hump," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "There's absolutely nothing physical. I thought it might have been a mental thing, which is natural for a young guy like that. I thought it was very important and hopefully that can carry him on."
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Encarnacion homered and stole a base in the same game for the third time in his career. Before Saturday, the last time was April 29, 2012, against the Mariners.
UNDER REVIEW
The Red Sox challenged a call at first base in the second. Pablo Sandoval was ruled out as the Blue Jays turned a double play, but Boston manager John Farrell asked the umpire crew to take a second look. After a five-minute, two-second review, it was determined that Sandoval had beaten the throw and was ruled safe at first.
Video: BOS@TOR: Out call at first overturned in 2nd inning
UP NEXT
Red Sox: Clay Buchholz will look to return to the win column as the Red Sox wrap the three-game series at Rogers Centre on Sunday at 1:07 p.m. ET. Buchholz hasn't won since Opening Day and dropped his fourth consecutive decision his last time out, allowing five earned runs on nine hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Blue Jays: Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey will take the mound Sunday when the Blue Jays go for a sweep. Dickey is coming off his best start of the season after allowing one run over eight innings in a victory over the Yankees. It was his longest outing since July 3, 2014, against Oakland and his third quality start of the year.
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