BOSTON -- Dropped from second to sixth in the batting order a week ago and without a home run for nearly six weeks, Alex Verdugo got rid of his recent frustration with one monster cut.

And he left no doubt about how good it felt.

As the baseball smacked his barrel and headed high and far and over Boston's bullpen in right-center field and into the first row of the bleachers, Verdugo stood, watched and savored the latest glorious moment for the Red Sox, who pulled out a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays on Monday night at Fenway Park.

What, you thought the Red Sox were going to run out of late-inning magic just because the Yankees left town?

The comeback kings of MLB in 2021 were more than happy to break out their act again, riding that two-run rocket by Verdugo with one out in the bottom of the eighth that turned a one-run deficit into a one-run lead.

"I said to the guys, 'If that wasn't going out, that would have been one of the most embarrassing moments ever,'" said Verdugo. "Right off the bat, I felt like I got that one good enough. I felt like I barreled it and had the right launch angle, everything. If that didn't go, I would have been devastated. I would have crawled into a little corner and stayed there."

Instead, Verdugo rounded the bases with boundless joy, knowing that his elusive 10th homer of the season couldn't have come at a better time. He hit the shot at an exit velocity of 101.1 mph with a launch angle of 27 degrees and a projected distance of 414 feet.

It was Verdugo who started the fun at Fenway on Sunday when he broke up Domingo Germán's no-hitter in the eighth with a double off the wall to begin an inning when the Red Sox had five straight hits to open the frame, in which they scored five runs.

They didn't need such a dramatic rally this time. Down, 4-3, Hunter Renfroe worked a six-pitch walk against Trevor Richards.

Up stepped Verdugo, who ripped a 3-1 changeup by Richards to snap a drought of 118 at-bats without a homer that dated back to June 15 in Atlanta.

Given the force of Verdugo's swing, it was certainly reasonable for a reporter to ask the left-handed hitter if he was trying to go deep.

"I wasn't trying to hit a home run. I think I've been trying to hit my 10th home run for the last month and a half now," said Verdugo. "Really, I was just trying to go in there and not try to do too much. It's ironic that happened, but I was just trying to see a pitch and get one out over the zone and put a good swing on it. And he left a changeup out over [the plate], and [I] was able to get barrel on it, stay through it and good things happened."

So many good things have happened for the Red Sox of late. This was their 33rd comeback win this season, which leads the Majors.

"That's what the tone is around here is -- we're never out of the game," said righty Nick Pivetta, who was on the hook for the loss until Verdugo did his thing.

Despite his recent rut, Verdugo has had plenty to do with the success of the 2021 Red Sox, who are 62-39 and lead the American League East by 1 1/2 games.

Verdugo has spent the past couple of weeks searching for a way out, and one of the keys was to get outside for batting practice. A creature of habit, Verdugo most often hits indoors before games.

"I just wanted to change my sights a little bit," said Verdugo. "Just kind of go back to seeing the ball and just barreling it up, just hitting hard balls and just kind of having fun again. When I'm going right and I'm normal and I know where my swing is at, the cage is perfect."

It was veteran teammate J.D. Martinez who suggested the change in routine to Verdugo.

"For me, it just felt like a couple small adjustments needed to be worked on and I just thought hitting on the field would be good for my eyes, see the field obviously and see the batter's box that I'm going to be in that night," Verdugo said. "Just like I said, find the barrel. I know Juan Soto talked about it, too. He said the Home Run Derby helped him and he was on fire right after the All-Star break, too, so it's just one of those things. Just finding barrels and letting your swing eat again, you start realizing where you need to be."

Perhaps Verdugo is in the process of hitting his way back to the No. 2 spot in the batting order, particularly with No. 3 prospect Jarren Duran hitless in his last 11 at-bats in that spot, and down to .154 since getting called up from Triple-A Worcester.

"I had been pressing about that 10th homer," said Verdugo. "Some of the guys never thought I was going to hit it. I started believing them, too. I was like, 'I don't think I'm going to hit this 10th home run.' I feel like now that I got the 10th out the way, I can just really relax and stick with what I've been doing the last few days."