Toronto Blue Jays relief pitchers had watched their teammates struggle at the plate this week against rival Boston, and on Thursday it was their turn to implode.

The visiting Red Sox erased a 3-1 deficit with a pair of runs in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth for a come-from-behind 5-3 win in the afternoon matchup at Rogers Centre.

Blue Jays relief pitcher Shawn Marcum pulls down his baseball cap after giving up a two-run home run to Boston's Manny Ramirez in the eighth inning.
(Lars Hagberg/Canadian Press)

Trailing 3-1, Boston tied the game when left-fielder Manny Ramirez broke out of a 4-for-26 funk with a two-out, two-run homer to centre field — his first of the season — off losing pitcher Shaun Marcum (1-1).

"The location was terrible," Marcum said. "I think my little sister probably could have hit it just as far, if not further."

In the ninth inning, acting Blue Jays closer Jason Frasor replaced Marcum with one out and promptly surrendered a run-scoring triple to Red Sox shortstop Alex Cora, who scored on a Coco Crisp sacrifice fly to make it 5-3.

Sox closer earns 4th save

Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon got the last three outs for his fourth save as the Red Sox took the final two games of the three-game series.

"It's definitely a tough situation," Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay said of the injuries to closer B.J. Ryan, third baseman Troy Glaus and left-fielder Reed Johnson. "But wishing they were back isn't going to help us. You just got to keep plugging, doing the best you can and really try to take advantage of the small opportunities in games.

"You've got to stay upbeat, stay positive."

The Toronto bullpen had held Boston off the scoreboard in the first two contests, covering 4 1/3 innings.

The Red Sox improved their record to 9-5 atop the American League East division, while second-place Toronto slipped to 8-7 and finished 5-5 on its 10-game homestand.

Prior to Thursday's three-run, eight-hit display, the Jays had managed just five runs and 15 hits in their previous three outings. Their last three wins have all been by scores of 2-1.

Jays initially in control

The Blue Jays appeared to be in control of the game before a crowd of 33,297 with Halladay taking a 3-1 advantage into the eighth inning.

But after Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis popped out to shortstop John McDonald with Crisp standing on first base, Toronto manager John Gibbons opted to have left-hander Scott Downs face left-handed hitting slugger David Ortiz.

Downs did his job, striking out the six-foot-four, 230-pound designated hitter, before the roof fell in on Marcum and Frasor.

Halladay, who is 14-4 in his last 25 starts at home, battled through his fourth start of the season, twice escaping bases-loaded situations in the third and sixth innings.

He allowed a run in the second inning but induced Ramirez to hit into a double play to end a threat in the third. Halladay went on to retire seven straight batters before Ortiz doubled with one out in the sixth inning.

Halladay gave up two earned runs over 7 1/3 innings of work, lowering his earned-run average to 2.37.

"I thought he pitched great and gave us just what we needed. We got Ortiz, we just didn't get Ramirez," said Gibbons. "It's never a single or double, it's always a home run, it never fails in this damn ballpark. The ball flies."

The Blue Jays snapped a 1-1 tie with two runs in their half of the sixth frame, highlighted by Alex Rios's solo homer. The right-fielder also doubled in the third to snap an 0-for-15 skid.

After Adam Lind singled to right and moved to second base on a wild pitch by Boston starter Julian Tavarez, Vernon Wells ripped a double down the left-field line to score Lind and make it a two-run game.

Wells, who began the at-bat averaging .176 this season with runners in scoring position, also doubled off former Blue Jays reliever and winner Mike Timlin (1-0) to lead off the eighth inning.

Toronto designated hitter Frank Thomas ended a 10-game homer drought with a solo blast to left-centre — the 489th blast of his career — that answered Boston's second-inning run.

The Blue Jays begin a seven-game road trip Friday in Baltimore, with A.J. Burnett (1-1) getting the start against Daniel Cabrera (1-1) at 7:05 p.m. ET.

With files from the Canadian Press