Blue Jays sweep slumping Red Sox

Last Updated: Thursday, September 20, 2007 | 12:16 AM ET

CBC Sports

Russ Adams remains red-hot for the Toronto Blue Jays, and Jesse Litsch is no longer winless for September.

Adams drove in five runs and Litsch outduelled fellow rookie right-hander Clay Buchholz, pitching 6 2/3 stingy innings as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 6-1 to complete a three-game sweep at the Rogers Centre on Wednesday.

Jesse Litsch delivers a pitch in Wednesday's 6-1 Blue Jays win.
(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

"We did everything we were supposed to do [as spoilers]," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "We pitched as good as you can pitch, we played some solid defence and we got some timely hitting."

Adams punctuated the shocking sweep with the first grand slam of his major-league career, a jolt off closer Jonathan Papelbon in the eighth inning that reached the second deck in right field.

On Tuesday, he broke a 2-2 deadlock with a pinch-hit, two-run double in the eighth inning as Toronto stunned the Red Sox 4-3.

"It was a whole lot of fun," Adams said. "To be playing in games that matter in the grand scheme of things of what's going on in the American League, it's fun to be a part of it."

Litsch (6-9) surrendered two hits with two walks and five strikeouts to halt a personal three-game losing skid for the month.

"My changeup was not real well before and, today, it was a real big pitch, along with my two-seamer," he said. "I was able to work in and out with both pitches and that was big."

Closer Jeremy Accardo recorded the final four outs — three on strikeouts — for his 28th save as the Blue Jays (77-75) notched their fourth win in five games.

"They pitched good and didn't give up," Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz said.

J.D. Drew homered for the staggering Red Sox (90-63), who have lost four straight games and five of six.

With the New York Yankees trimming the Baltimore Orioles 2-1, Boston's lead in the AL East Division has dwindled to 1½ games.

Toronto trails by 12½ games.   

"We have got to fight through it," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "How good of a team you end up being often is how you handle adversity."

No back-to-back no-hitters

Buchholz (3-1) suffered his first major-league loss in his fourth appearance, including three starts.

Buchholz no-hit the Orioles 4-0 in his previous start on Sept. 1, putting him in a position to join Johnny Vander Meer as the only pitchers to throw no-hitters in consecutive starts.

Vander Meer hurled back-to-back no-hitters for the Cincinnati Reds in 1938.

But Buchholz yielded two runs to Toronto — one unearned — on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.

"I felt fine," he said. "Right off the bat, I felt good with the fastball command."

Drew staked Boston to a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning with a solo home run to left field, his ninth of the season.

Litsch hadn't permitted a hit to that point; he later gave up a seventh-inning single to Eric Hinske before being relieved by Casey Janssen.

Toronto replied in the bottom of the fifth inning as Adams legged out a slow roller to second base for an infield single that scored Gregg Zaun, who had doubled and moved to third on Adam Lind's single.

Lind trotted in with the go-ahead run when Ray Olmedo laid down a bunt that Buchholz fielded cleanly, but threw away at third base for an error.

With files from the Canadian Press