Blue Jays suffer 15-1 blowout vs. Red Sox

TORONTO (CP) — Mookie Betts hit two homers and drove in eight runs as the Boston Red Sox crushed the Toronto Blue Jays 15-1 on Sunday to complete a threegame sweep.

Betts had four of Boston’s 21 hits — including a three-run shot in the fourth inning and a two-run blast in the sixth — and scored three times. He helped turn the game into a laugher with a two-run single in Boston’s eight-run seventh inning.

The American League East-leading Red Sox (47-35) have won four in a row and six of their last seven games.

The last-place Blue Jays wrapped up their six-game homestand with a 1-5 mark. Toronto (37-44) has dropped four in a row and eight of 10 overall.

Toronto’s bats have gone silent of late and the timing is less than ideal.

The Blue Jays entered the homestand with optimism that they were close to being in the mix with the contenders in the East. Instead they will head to New York for a three-game series starting Monday in desperate need of victories.

July is make-or-break time for bubble teams and team brass may start shifting focus from the present to the future if the losing continues.

With the loss, Toronto fell 9 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the divisional race. Only Detroit, Chicago and Oakland were below the Blue Jays in the American League standings entering Sunday’s games.

A sellout crowd of 46,696 at Rogers Centre enjoyed bright sunshine at the start of the game. The roof closed in the third inning and Toronto’s window of opportunity in this one was soon sealed along with it.