Blue Jays 8-7, FINAL: Kevin Youkilis takes strike three on a 3-and-2 count. Tough way to lose. And now we wait.
10:18 p.m.: Martinez walks on four pitches. Joey Gathright runs for him. A gapper by Youkilis wins it.
10:15 p.m.: Ellsbury steals second. A single ties it.
10:13 p.m.: Pedroia almost wins it, sending the ball to the warning track in right center. But it's just the second out. Victor Martinez coming up, Esllbury still on first.
10:10 p.m.: Jacoby Ellsbury singles with one out against Jason Frasor. Pedroia coming up.
Mid 9th, Blue Jays 8-7: Looked like Papelbon apologized to Lind after getting the third out. Alex Gonzalez, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia are due up in the ninth.
10:03 p.m.: Papelbon drills Adam Lind with two outs and nobody on. You can guarantee that Roy Halladay is going to drill somebody in the first inning Wednesday night.
End 8th, Blue Jays 8-7: Casey Kotchman pops out to third to end the inning, but we're in for a frantic finish, as Jonathan Papelbon comes on to pitch the ninth.
9:53 p.m.: It's magic! J.D. Drew drives one over the Red Sox bullpen to make it 8-7. Shades of Game 5 last October and the crowd is in a frenzy.
9:51 p.m.: Is the magic happening? The Red Sox already have two runs home in the eighth and J.D. Drew is up with two on and two out in an 8-4 game. The Red Sox hit into a double play for the third straight inning after Ellsbury and Pedoria opened the eighth with singles, which could prove fatal.
Mid 8th, Blue Jays 8-2: If the Red Sox are going to have any hope of a comeback, it has to happen right now, with Jacoby Ellsbury leading off the inning.
End 7th, Blue Jays 8-2: Another double play for the Red Sox, who may have to wait until Wednesday to taste the sweet stuff. Scott Kazmir has been scratched by the Angels tonight after clinching the AL West Monday night. Not great odds for an Angels victory tonight.
Mid 7th, Blue Jays 8-2: The Jays' homer parade rolls on. Adam Lind gets the hat trick with a solo shot off Takashi Saito. The six homers are the most allowed by the Red Sox since Tim Wakefield allowed 6 of 7 against the Tigers in an 11-9 victory at Detroit in 2004.
End 6th, Blue Jays 7-2: David Ortiz's 30-homer season may have to wait. Ortiz hits into a double play in the sixth, with Millar, the Jays third baseman, manning the pivot at second. It's been that kind of night for the Red Sox.
Mid 6th, Blue Jays 7-2: Ramirez allows a leadoff double to Millar, but manages to avoid giving up a run. But the Sox are running out of innings to catch up.
End 5th, Blue Jays 7-2: So much for the Romero Theory. Romero pitches his first 1-2-3 inning of the night and hasn't allowed a run since the second inning. Meanwhile, Clay Buchholz is done for the night. Ramon Ramirez is in.
Mid 5th, Blue Jays 7-2: The home runs keep on coming. The Jays tie a season high with their fifth homer of the game — a solo shot by Lind off Buchholz leadong off the fifth.
End 4th, Blue Jays 6-2: The Red Sox have had the chances you'd expect they'd have tonight against Romero, but have not been able to cash them in. First and second in the fourth on singles by Ortiz and J.D. Drew, but Casey Kotchman grounds out and Alex Gonzalez strikes out to end the inning.
Mid 4th, Blue Jays 6-2: At long last, Buchholz throws a 1-2-3 inning. Now Oritiz leads off the fourth as the Red Sox try to get a little closer.
End 3rd, Blue Jays 6-2: Not sure what Dustin Pedroia was just thinking, as he gets himself thrown out at third for the third out trying to steal a base with the homer-happy David Ortiz at the plate.
Mid 3rd, Blue Jays 6-2: Buchholz is not holding up his end of the bargain. Yet another homer in the third, this one by our old friend Kevin Millar. Buchholz had allowed seven homers for the season before tonight. He's given up four in three innings tonight.
End 2nd, Blue Jays 5-2: The Red Sox manufacture another run and the prevailing feeling here at the park is that if Buchholz can get through another 3-4 innings without giving up any runs, the Red Sox will win this game. But Buchholz needs to hold up his end of the deal.
Mid 2nd, Blue Jays 5-1: The bombardment of Buchholz continues with Aaron Hill hitting his 36th homer. I was in a fantasy baseball draft this year where Aaron Hill was a 23rd-round pick. Sadly, I did not pick him.
End 1st, Blue Jays 4-1: The long road back into this game has begun. Dustin Pedroia doubles with one out and scores on a Victor Martinez single. If there's a pitcher on this Jays staff that a four-run lead isn't enough, it's Ricky Romero against the Red Sox.
Mid 1st, Blue Jays 4-0: Just a reminder: The one-game playoff against the Rangers would be held in Arlington on Monday.
7:15 p.m.: Make that 3-0. Adam Lind follows an Aaron Hill single with a homer to center. Buchholz has now allowed more earned runs in this inning than his previous four starts combined. Ouch!
7:11 p.m.: Terry Francona talked before the game about Clay Buchholz being more willing to pitch to contact this season as part of the reason for his new-found success. Guess so. Jose Bautista contacted Buchholz's first pitch of the game and sent it about 400 feet to left for a 1-0 Jays lead.
6:40 p.m.: The Red Sox got some good news this afternoon, as Josh Beckett declared himself ready to go for a Saturday start against the Indians. Beckett said the treatment he received Monday for back spasms made all the difference and said he could pitch sooner than Saturday, although there is no need for that now.
Jon Lester has also been cleared to make his scheduled start Thursday and Hideki Okajima, who had experienced pain in his side, is available tonight.
2:45 p.m.: Is tonight the night?
The Rangers held up their end of the bargain Monday night, standing down as the Angels bludgeoned them to claim the AL West title. That reduced the Red Sox' magic number to just one, and what better way to enter the 2009 postseason than to clinch the wild card at Fenway Park tonight?
The matchup seems quite favorable for a celebration tonight. Clay Buchholz, who has been unbeatable for a month, has enjoyed particular success against the Blue Jays, going 3-0 in three starts, posting a 1.35 ERA over 20 innings. On the flipside, Ricky Romero, although owning a respectable 12-9 with a 4.28 ERA in his rookie season, is 0-3 with an 8.83 ERA in four starts against the Red Sox.
