Melky collects two RBIs, both off pitchers' legs

TORONTO -- Melky Cabrera played a pivotal role in the Blue Jays' 7-3 victory over the Red Sox on Tuesday night, doing so in rather unique fashion.

Cabrera had a pair of RBI singles that went off opposing pitchers' legs. In both cases, the ball didn't travel very far, but was enough out of Boston's reach to make an impact.

The first RBI single came in the second inning. With Anthony Gose on second base, Cabrera hit a sharp grounder off the leg of Boston right-hander Jake Peavy. The ball ricocheted into foul territory and by the time Peavy collected it, it was too late to get Cabrera at first.

The second incident happened in the seventh when Cabrera once again drilled a grounder at his opponent. This time the victim was right-hander Burke Badenhop and by the time third baseman Xander Bogaerts fielded the ball, he didn't have a play as Gose came around to score for a second time.

"We get a ricochet and we can't cut down a run at home plate for that added run in the seventh," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "In the eighth inning, the two runs, they loomed a little more large. It's a 5-3 game, we have the go-ahead run at the plate, it changes the entire complexity -- we made a strong push to come back, but down six, it's a major difference."

Cabrera, who finished 3-for-5, has hit safely in 12 of his past 15 games. It was his ninth game with at least three hits and his 37th multihit game. He has reached base in all but 21 of his 100 games this season.