TORONTO (AP) — Clay Buchholz pitched eight strong innings to win his third straight start, Xander Bogaerts drove in two runs and the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Monday night.
Buchholz (6-6) improved to 10-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 15 career starts in Toronto as the Red Sox won back-to-back games for the first time since June 19.
The Blue Jays have scored a major league-leading 421 runs but have totaled just four in their past three games.
Buchholz allowed one run and five hits in matching his longest outing of the season. He’s won four straight decisions since losing at Minnesota on May 26.
Koji Uehara finished for his 17th save.
Bogaerts hit a two-run double in the third and Brock Holt singled home Mookie Betts after his leadoff triple in the fifth as the Red Sox jumped out to a 3-0 lead against R.A. Dickey, who has won only once in seven starts,
Bogaerts went 1 for 3 against Dickey and is 9 for 23 in his career against the knuckleballer.
Toronto cut it to 3-1 in the sixth when Devon Travis reached on an infield single and scored on Josh Donaldson’s two-out double. Jose Bautista ended the inning by flying out to the warning track in left.
Dickey (3-8) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. He’s 0-3 with a 5.76 ERA in four starts against Boston this season.
The Blue Jays didn’t help themselves by running into a pair of outs.
Russell Martin was hit by a pitch in the second but went too far around third on Kevin Pillar’s double to left before being chased down and tagged out by Pablo Sandoval. Travis singled to begin the third but was caught stealing second as Ryan Goins struck out.
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