Filling in for the injured Red Sox ace, Bowden was rattled early and often as Toronto put up four in the first inning and three in the third inning. In just his second career start and his first of this season, the 23-year-old threw 67 pitches and failed to make it past the third inning.
The lopsided defeat was Boston’s first home loss to the Blue Jays all year. Earlier this season, the Sox swept the Jays in both three-game series at the Fens.
Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 5 (final/7)
Fenway Park, Boston, Mass.
September 28, 2009
Headliner: Rod Barajas and Jose Bautista each homered, tallied two hits and drove in three runs apiece in the Jays’ victory. Bautista’s solo homer ignited the Jays’ four-run first inning while Barajas smashed his three-run bomb to left-center in the third to make it 7-2 Jays.
Dirt dog: Kevin Youkilis smacked a two-run bomb in the first and a solo shot in the third to cut Toronto’s lead to 7-4. It was Youk’s fourth multi-home run game of the season and the ninth of his career.
Blue Jays starter Scott Richmond went six innings and allowed four earned runs on six hits in his first career win over the Red Sox. The righty retired nine straight Sox hitters before David Ortiz’s deep blast over the bullpen in the sixth.
Better luck next time: Michael Bowden’s spot start didn’t last more than three innings as the young righty was shelled for seven earned runs on seven hits. In his three frames of work, Bowden gave up two homers and one walk while striking out three. He threw just 37 of 67 pitches for strikes.
Key moment: After getting Bautista to fly out to start the contest, Bowden gave up five consecutive hits — including a homer and two doubles — as the Blue Jays stormed out to an early 4-0 lead.
On deck: Clay Buchholz puts his eight-game unbeaten streak on the line as American League Rookie of the Year candidate Ricky Romero takes the rubber for the Blue Jays in Game 2 of the three-game series.
Buchholz hasn’t lost since Aug. 13 and has won his last six decisions. In his last outing, Buchholz shut out the Royals over 6 2/3 innings and held the K.C. lineup to just five hits while striking out eight and walking none. In his last four starts, he’s allowed just two earned runs on 18 hits over 26 2/3 innings. The righty is 7-3 this season but just 2-1 at home with a 2.72 ERA.
Romero is 12-9 with a 4.28 ERA in his first season. The lefty has won just once in his last six starts, including a 3-2 loss to the Red Sox on Aug. 29 where he was charged with three runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. Romero is just 4-5 on the road this year with a 4.16 ERA.
