Cy Young form
Lefty allows four hits, strikes out 11 Blue Jays over seven innings
Boston left-hander Chris Sale was dominant again in helping the Red Sox beat Toronto, 7-1. Sale gave up four hits and had 11 K’s to up his record to 11-3.
TORONTO — Chris Sale's latest gem got the Red Sox to the midway point with their best record of the season.
Sale pitched seven shutout innings to win his third straight decision, Xander Bogaerts had three RBIs and Boston beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-1 on Saturday.
Sale (11-3) struck out 11, boosting his major league-leading total to 166. He's 2-0 with 24 strikeouts in 15 scoreless innings against the Blue Jays this season, beating them twice north of the border.
"Chris threw another great performance," acting manager Gary DiSarcina said. "He's been really good here (in Toronto). He did a great job and he saved the bullpen, too."
First-place Boston (46-35) is 11 games above .500 for the first time, and Sale expects better things in the second half.
"It's going to be fun when we get going," he said. "It says a lot about our guys and our team that we've battled through some things schedule-wise, injury-wise and things like that. When we start putting it together, it's going to be a scary thing."
Mookie Betts walked three times and scored three runs for the Red Sox, who have won five of six. Hanley Ramirez had three hits.
Sale has struck out 11 or more five times in his 17 starts.
"He's been unbelievable to play behind and just to get to know him as a guy," Dustin Pedroia said.
Blaine Boyer pitched the eighth, and Robby Scott gave up Steve Pearce's solo home run in the ninth.
“When we start putting it together, it's going to be a scary thing." – Red Sox ace Chris Sale
Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-out, two run double in the first and Pedroia did the same in the second. Bogaerts had a sacrifice fly in the fifth and added a two-run single off Lucas Harrell in the ninth.
Sale said he appreciated being given an early advantage.
"It's huge," he said. "I haven't even thrown a competitive pitch and I've got a two-run lead."
The Red Sox stole three bases, with Deven Marrero and Betts executing a double steal in the second. Boston is 12-0 this season when stealing multiple bases, and has won 13 such games going back to last season.
Blue Jays left-hander Francisco Liriano (4-4) allowed five runs in six innings. Liriano has not won consecutive starts this season.'
Last-place Toronto has lost seven of nine. They're 2-6 in their past eight at home.
The Blue Jays put runners at second and third with one out in the sixth, but Sale got Troy Tulowitzki to bounce back to the mound, then retired Pearce on a pop fly to first.