TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report from Field Level Media) – Alex Verdugo led off the ninth inning with a tie-breaking home run and the visiting Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep with a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon.
Jarren Duran tied a Red Sox club record with four doubles and finished 5-for-5 with three runs scored.
The Red Sox have won all seven games between the teams this season.
Brandon Belt hit two solo home runs for Toronto, which was held to six hits.
Boston right-hander Garrett Whitlock (right elbow tightness) allowed one run before being removed after the first inning.
Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman allowed two runs, five hits and one walk while striking out seven in five innings.
Duran led off the game with a bloop double to left and scored on a two-out single by Rafael Devers.
Toronto tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the first on Belt’s fifth homer of the season.
After Gausman struck out five in a row, Duran doubled to right with one out in the third and scored on a two-out single by Devers, who finished 3-for-3 with two walks.
Toronto took the lead in the bottom of the third. Kevin Kiermaier hit a one-out single against Brennan Bernardino, who was replaced by Kaleb Ort. George Springer singled, and after a double steal, Bo Bichette hit a two-run single to right. Verdugo threw out Bichette trying for a double.
Belt hit his sixth homer of the season against Nick Pivetta with one out in the sixth to make it 4-2 Toronto.
Duran led off the seventh with his fourth double, a shot high off the left-field wall against Erik Swanson. Justin Turner singled to drive in Duran. Turner was running on the play when Verdugo chopped a groundout to third and continued to third, coming home on a throwing error by first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to tie the game at 4-4.
After Pivetta completed four innings of one-run ball, Chris Martin (2-1) took over and pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth.
Verdugo hit his sixth home run of the season on the first pitch of the ninth off Toronto closer Jordan Romano (3-4) for the decisive run.
Boston’s Joe Jacques pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth to earn his first career save.