(Boston) Alek Manoah was imperial for six innings and the Toronto Blue Jays relied on his arm more than their offense to beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1 on Saturday.
Posted at 8:55 p.m.
The day after a team all-time high in points — and the most points against the Red Sox — in a 28-5 victory, Manoah set the tone.
The Red Sox have dropped the flag for the eighth time in their last nine games.
Manoah (11-4) allowed a run on a Bobby Dalbec home run to left field, and seven hits. He walked zero, struck out seven and reduced his ERA to 2.24.
Manoah shouted in the direction of the Red Sox dugout after finishing his night on the job with three straight strikeouts. He started this streak by removing Xander Bogaerts.
Jordan Romano allowed nothing in the ninth inning and got a 21e rescue this season. He sits at the top of the American League in this regard.
The Blue Jays drove in seven hits, up from 29 the day before. The Queen City squad improved to 9-3 against the Red Sox this season.
The Blue Jays hold a three-and-a-half-game lead over the Red Sox, their closest pursuers for the bottom tier of American League draft teams.
Blue Jays pitcher Ross Stripling (5-3, 3.03 ERA) will look to build on his July streak in the series finale on Sunday. He will be opposed to Bryan Bello (0-1).