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Burnett Lifts Toronto, Beats Boston

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 2, 2008

BOSTON - A.J. Burnett scattered three hits pitching into the eighth inning and Alex Rios homered for the Toronto Blue Jays, who wrapped up a miserable road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night.

Toronto finished the nine-game trip at 2-7 and avoided a sweep after Boston had won the two previous games in the last at-bat. The Red Sox and Blue Jays combined for seven total runs in the series.

Burnett continued his mastery of the Red Sox, improving to 4-0 against Boston while allowing only one run in 16 innings over two starts at Fenway Park. Burnett struck out five and walked five in 72/3 innings.

Jesse Carlson worked the eighth and B.J. Ryan pitched the ninth for his third save.

Scott Rolen's two-out RBI single off Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield gave Toronto a 1-0 lead in the third inning and ended a 17-inning shutout streak by Boston starters.

After wasting a bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth, the Blue Jays missed another chance to break the game open in the fifth.

With Rolen and David Eckstein on first and second, Matt Stairs singled off the wall and the ball bounced directly into the glove of Coco Crisp whose, quick relay caught Eckstein in a rundown between third and home. Vernon Wells followed with a sacrifice fly to salvage one run.

Boston threatened in the fourth when David Ortiz singled and Manny Ramirez walked to start the inning, but Mike Lowell flied to left and Aaron Hill made a diving grab of a line drive up the middle off the bat of Brandon Moss, doubling Ortiz off second base.

Rios capped the scoring with his third homer of the season for Toronto, which avoided tying Texas for the worst record in the American League.

Wakefield lost for the first time in seven starts after giving up three runs and six hits in seven innings. The knuckleballer walked four and didn't record a strikeout.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was ejected in the bottom of the ninth after Crisp appeared to fly out to end the game. Gibbons was upset that second base umpire Bruce Dreckman called a balk on Ryan, giving Crisp another chance. He singled two pitches later, but Jed Lowrie struck out to end it.

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