Blue Jays Crush Jon Lester, Red Sox in Series Opener

Postgame, Blue Jays 16-2: Jon Lester chalked it up to a bad day. A really bad day. Hopefully he can move on from this one and start anew in five days. He seems to think he can.

"It's a long season, you go through stretches like that," he said. "I've had worse, I've had better. Five days go get 'em again."

Question is, where will the Red Sox be in the standings in five days? They are seven games out in the loss column in the AL East with 39 games to play. Tampa Bay is winning in Oakland as I type this. If that score holds up it is the same deficit in the wild card.

The hopes for a turnaround rest squarely on the shoulders of Daisuke Matsuzaka. He goes against Ricky Romero on Saturday night. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. and the great Michael Hurley will be taking you through that one.

Final, Blue Jays 16-2: Try and pretend it didn't happen.

The Red Sox fall to 2-2 on this all-important homestand and do so on severely embarrassing fashion. It is their worst home loss of the season. Fourth place is not that far off, my friends.

The big question is what exactly was wrong with Jon Lester. We will get you the answer in a second.

Mid 9th, Blue Jays 16-2: Adrian Beltre is still in there and still able to provide the fans something to cheer about. He starts a nice double play to end the top of the ninth and the Red Sox have the Blue Jays right where they want them.

End 8th, Blue Jays 16-2: My computer ate this post. The Sox did nothing in the inning.

Mid 8th, Blue Jays 16-2: The Blue Jays have been kept off the scoreboard in just one inning, the fourth. Tim Wakefield gives up an unearned run in the eighth. Lyle Overbay has a career-high seven RBIs.

End 7th, Blue Jays 15-2: Tim Wakefield is jogging on to finish this one off. It's a 44-year-old knuckleballer and a slew of minor leaguers on the field for the Red Sox. Strange night.

Bill Hall and Yamaico Navarro swapped positions for the last two innings. Hall is at short, Navarro at second, presumably for both just to get some work at each spot.

9:42 p.m.: Dusty Brown has dashed many dreams with his bat. He ends Brett Cecil's shutout bid (he never would've made it anyway) with a two-run double with two outs in the seventh. Brown now has three career RBIs.

Mid 7th, Blue Jays 15-0: Get up and stretch! Jose Bautista just took Manny Delcarmen over the camera stand in center field, so it's a good time to get the blood flowing again.

End 6th, Blue Jays 14-0: Not that it would make too much difference but the Red Sox have had their share of scoring chances. They've hit into two double plays and left seven men on through six innings.

Manny Delcarmen is on in relief of Michael Bowden. If anyone severely struggles over the last few innings we may see Bill Hall on the mound.

Mid 6th, Blue Jays 14-0: You would like to see some better results from Michael Bowden, who at one point figured to be an important piece to this bullpen puzzle. He surrenders a three-run homer to light-hitting John McDonald and the rout continues.

The Red Sox' worst home shutout loss is 19-0, from what I can see. That took place against Cleveland in 1955. Not a good time of the season to be flirting with such standards.

End 5th, Blue Jays 11-0: Give the fans credit for getting into things after Yamaico Navarro hits the first pitch he ever sees in the majors for a single, helping the Red Sox load the bases with one out.

Victor Martinez hit into a double play for the second time to end the threat and keep alive Brett Cecil's shutout bid.

Navarro takes over for Marco Scutaro at shortstop and Dusty Brown has replaced Victor Martinez behind the plate. Six of the nine Red Sox players on the field have played at Pawtucket this season.

Mid 5th, Blue Jays 11-0: The Red Sox' worst home loss of the season came back in May against the Yankees, a 14-3 drubbing. That was a game that featured a long rain delay and a pitching performance by outfielder Jonathan Van Every. We are dry and still have actual pitchers in the game in this one, so there's that.

Michael Bowden comes on and gives up a two-run double to Yunel Escobar. Both runs are charged to Scott Atchison.

I love each and every one of you readers and welcome the comments. Just to clarify one thing. The picture we put in is done so by the staff. If I had my druthers it would be of my family, but that wouldn't draw many of you to the page.

And the reason it is sometimes of one guy while I am writing about another is because the topic of the blog changes throughout the day. It's impossible to keep up with my mad typing so the picture remains the same. Hope that helps.

8:40 p.m.: The second of two straight singles off Scott Atchison literally goes off Scott Atchison. He is hit in the right leg, gets the customary visit from the trainer and is lifted with one out in the fifth. Michael Bowden is your new mop-up man.

End 4th, Blue Jays 9-0: Very quietly Brett Cecil is having a nice night. He has given up five hits but has yet to walk a batter and has struck out four, including J.D. Drew with a man on second to end the fourth.

Bill Hall has moved from left field to second base with Jed Lowrie moving from second to first. Daniel Nava has come off the bench to take Hall's vacated spot in left. Mike Lowell's night is done.

Mid 4th, Blue Jays 9-0: Scott Atchison. Savior. The righty has gone two scoreless, doing the yeoman's work he has done so often this year. It's all about eating innings here and he's doing a nice job of it.

End 3rd, Blue Jays 9-0: Friday night at Fenway Park in a playoff race against an American League East rival, yet this place is pretty subdued. The Sox waste a scoring chance when Victor Martinez hits into a double play with two on.

Mid 3rd, Blue Jays 9-0: I'm searching for a silver lining here. One is that Brett Cecil gave up five home runs in his only prior start at Fenway Park, so maybe the Red Sox can get to him at some point. Another is that the Yankees are losing. Hope that helps you feel a bit better.

Jon Lester threw two innings an outing just once before, but that came in relief in 2006. Twice before he had been knocked out after 2 1/3 innings, most recently in Yankee Stadium last September.

There will be obvious questions about Lester's health. Doubt anything is wrong there. This just seemed like a woeful lack of execution. He was behind several hitters and left way too many pitchers later in at-bats over the plate.

8:03 p.m.: The shortest start of Jon Lester's career ends when he gives up the second three-run homer of the night to Lyle Overbay. 9-0 Jays. Yikes.

Scott Atchison is on to keep it "close."

End 2nd, Blue Jays 6-0: It's simple math but I'll mention it anyway. In a pair of critical games (aren't they all now?) with Josh Beckett and Jon Lester on the mound the last two nights the Red Sox have been outscored 13-2.

Mid 2nd, Blue Jays 6-0: With Scott Atchison up and warming in the Red Sox bullpen Jon Lester wiggles out of another jam with just minimal damage. The first two reached on a double and a single and Jose Bautista recorded his 91st RBI on a sacrifice fly to center.

Scott Atchison was up and warming before Lester got Vernon Wells to hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

End 1st, Blue Jays 5-0: Two singles give the Red Sox a little life in the first but consecutive strikeouts of David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre end the threat.

What makes the top of the first so alarming was that Jon Lester carried a 14 1/3-inning scoreless streak into the start and had dominated the Blue Jays this year. He had allowed only two runs in 13 innings vs. Toronto in 2010.

Every time a position player goes down with an injury we revert back to that old cliche that your starting pitching will carry you, or however you want to phrase that. The rotation just remains so maddeningly inconsistent.

Mid 1st, Blue Jays 5-0: With the Dustin Pedroia news so fresh, Red Sox fans were in need of a pick-me-up. The top of the first was a complete downer. Jon Lester looked about as bad as we've ever seen him, in more ways than one.

After walking the leadoff man Lester allowed Yunel Escobar to reach when he got in the way of a charging Adrian Beltre down the third-base line.

With one out Lester threw a pickoff attempt at second base into center field, then walked the bases full before John Buck made it 2-0 with a single to right. One out later Lyle Overbay lofted a three-run homer into the first row of the Monster Seats.

Lester threw 28 pitches, half of them for strikes. Early on that ratio was even worse but he got the ninth man to hit, Travis Snider, to strike out on four pitches.

6:48 p.m.: For those of you wondering who Yamaico Navarro is, he is a 22-year-old with some pop, some speed and the ability to play a few different positions.

Navarro met briefly with reporters a moment ago and said he is excited to just try to help the team win any way he can. That may include playing some second base, some shortstop and some third.

Navarro hit .275 with 11 homers, 61 RBIs and 18 stolen bases between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket this season.

He has played the bulk of his games at shortstop, getting just two games in at second base all season. He admitted he is still working on the pivot at second when playing Dustin Pedroia's position and said the throw on such plays is a work in progress. We saw that sort of issue with Jed Lowrie a few times.

With Lowrie and Bill Hall still available we may see Navarro at shortstop just as much as second. Marco Scutaro remains a quality bat and glove, but there have been times when he looks a bit gassed. Scutaro recently went through a lengthy drought at the plate and has had a few weak throws from short.

Maybe a day off with Navarro in there will occur at some point. We will see.

5:05 p.m.: Dustin Pedroia going back on the disabled list means the Red Sox have placed a player on the DL 24 times this season, including eight this month. He is not the only injury note we have to pass on, although he is undeniably the biggest.

– Jason Varitek is on a conference call with a doctor in North Carolina (the Carolina Panthers team physician) who has looked at a scan of his broken right foot. That is going on as I type this and we may have more on his status later on.

– Fellow catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia remains at MGH with a lower right leg infection. The blood work has yet to come back in so the exact diagnosis is not known. Terry Francona said that Saltalamacchia is feeling much better and that the infection is localized. He may be released in a day or two.

– Eric Patterson, who may get more time at second base when he returns from a neck strain, is just about ready to go again but not eligible to return until the end of the month.

– Hideki Okajima will pitch a rehab game for Pawtucket on Saturday and again on Monday, both games in Buffalo.

– Kevin Cash, out with a left hamstring strain, will catch at Pawtucket on Friday and then Lowell on Sunday.

The roster move with Pedroia involves the club selecting Yamaico Navarro from Pawtucket. Navarro is a kid we saw in spring training with the big club for a bit. He has limited experience at second base but will provide depth there, as well as at shortstop and third base, if needed.

Look for more on the site regarding the Pedroia injury.

4:40 p.m.: We have confirmation that Dustin Pedroia is on the DL for the second time. His foot, which was never fully healed, just needs more time. There was no damage done in the two games he played upon returning, but the chance that he could hurt it more and face surgery was very realistic.