TORONTO - In a back-and-forth game of bullpen ineptitude, the Red Sox finally won out, flexing their muscles with three extra-base hits -- including two multi-run homers -- in the 10th, giving them a 10-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, their fifth win in a row.
Mitch Moreland cranked a three-run homer and Jackie Bradley Jr. added a two-run blast two batters later.
That was needed, since Kevin Pillar answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th off Tyler Thornburg.
It appeared the Sox had the game won with a three-run homer by J.D. Martinez in the eighth. But in the bottom of the ninth, Craig Kimbrel blew his fourth save of the season by allowing a solo shot by Justin Smoak.
Starter Drew Pomeranz had another poor start, issuing five walks in 4.2 innings while allowing two runs.
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS
10:06 Craig Kimbrel has had difficulty throwing his breaking ball for strikes for much of the season. He threw three straight to Justin Smoak, fell behind 3-and-0 and was forced to come in with his fastball, which Smoak plastered to right for a game-tying homer. Fourth blown save of the year.
9:08 Poor throw from Benintendi in left. Travis had stopped before he got halfway to second, but when Benintendi's throw to second far overshot the mark, Travis jogged into second.
8:56 Nice job by Brandon Workman to extricate himself from a bases-loaded, no-out jam. He got a flyout to shallow right (and a slow runner in Kendrys Morales, who didn't want to test his "speed'' against Mookie Betts) and two choppers resulting in force outs at the plate.
8:37 More info on Pomeranz: half the pitches he threw tonight were curveballs, and he got just three swing-and-misses in his 84 pitches. And one strikeout.
8:32 Pomeranz didn't seem happy to be given the hook after his fifth walk over 4.2 innings. He threw 84 pitches and they were nearly 50-50, with 44 strikes and 40 balls. Heath Hembree on, trying to start another streak with inherited runners after his run of 19 straight came to an end Sunday.
8:01 The Sox capitalize on a mistake by the Jays. A one-out error by Travis allowed Andrew Benintendi to reach, and after a walk to Mitch Moreland pushed Benintendi to second, he scored on an opposite-field single to right by J.D. Martinez. That gives Martinez 94 RBI.
7:50 Drew Pomeranz was inviting trouble with his wildness in the first two innings, and just paid for it there in the third. He walked Randal Grichuk -- his third walk of the game -- and on a 3-and-2 pitch to Devon Travis, threw a 90 mph four-seamer down the heart of the plate which Travis golfed out to left for a 2-0 lead.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays
WHEN: 7:07 p.m.
WHERE: Rogers Centre
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox are flying high, having swept the Yankees over four games at Fenway over the weekend. They can become the first team to win 80 games in big league with a victory tonight. They're 8-1 in their last nine games and 23-5 over their last 28. Their nine-game lead is the largest for any division leader. The Jays are at 51-60 and just came off a 5-5 road trip. They're in fourth place and are 27 games in back of the Sox.
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Drew Pomeranz (1-5, 6.56) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (4-8, 5.63)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Moreland 1B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Bradley CF
Nunez 3B
Holt 2B
Leon C
BLUE JAYS
Grichuk RF
Travis 2B
Smoak 1B
Hernandez LF
Morales DH
Solarte 3B
Diaz SS
Pillar CF
Maile C
NEWS AND NOTES
- Alex Cora announced that Chris Sale will return to the Red Sox rotation Sunday in Baltimore. Sale was placed on the 10-day DL last week with mild shoulder inflammation, and initially, the Sox had targeted Wednesday here in Toronto for his return. But realizing that would have put him on schedule to also pitch in Philadelphia, where he would have to hit, they scrapped that and pushed him back to Sunday. "He played catch (Monday) and today and will throw a bullpen (Wednesday),'' said Cora.
- Rafael Devers had four at-bats in Lowell Monday night as part of a brief rehab stint. He's eligible to come off the DL Wednesday and all signs point to him being activated then.
- The Sox are undecided on their second starter for Saturday's doubleheader. David Price will pitch the first game; the second could go to someone on the roster, or a call-up from Pawtucket. MLB rules allow teams to add a 26th player for doubleheaders.
- Eduardo Rodriguez will throw live batting practice in Baltimore Friday. "He feels great,'' said Cora.
- Blake Swihart and Ian Kinsler -- each out with strained hamstrings -- remained back in Boston, but will join the team in Baltimore.
- Steven Wright is "feeling a lot better,'' according to Cora and threw off the mound over the weekend at Fenway. "He said he feels a lot better than he did the first time,'' said Cora, "knowing what he has to do to avoid lapses like this. He's been doing great in the weight room, he's been keeping his arm in shape. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I do feel he's going to back at some point during the season.''
- There was also positive news on Dustin Pedroia, who remains in Arizona. "There's a lot of stuff going on as far as his rehab,'' said Cora. " He feels good about it. The door's still open. He feels (returning this season) might happen. I know the player. I know he's going to do everything possible for this to happen. If he's able to come back, that's a plus for us, too.''