BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox are looking like a team that’ll be playing out the string a little early this season.
The defending World Series champions, last in the AL East, lost for the sixth time in seven games, falling to the Toronto Blue Jays 14-1 on Monday night.
And, it wasn’t pretty.
Melky Cabrera homered from both sides of the plate and drove in five runs, R.A. Dickey pitched three-hit ball for seven innings and the Blue Jays used a nine-run sixth en route to the rout.
“Through the first six innings it was an ugly night from the mound,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “You give up nine runs in one inning, I think that’s far too many runs to come back from for any lineup. I thought Dickey had one of the better knuckelballs we’ve seen from him, but, still, when you get down that much that early, that’s a tough night.”
The Blue Jays won for the sixth time in seven games.
Cabrera homered into Boston’s bullpen in right field after Jose Reyes led off the game with a walk. Cabrera made it 9-0 in a nine-run sixth with a three-run homer to left, his 14th of the season.
Everyone in the Blue Jays’ lineup except Reyes scored in the sixth, and Munenori Kawasaki scored twice. Toronto’s 14 runs matched its season-high against Cincinnati on June 20.
Ryan Goins had four hits and four RBIs for Toronto.
Dickey (9-10) had a season-high 10 strikeouts, allowed a run and walked one as he won for the third time in 10 starts. But against the Red Sox he’s 3-0 with 21 strikeouts and two walks this season.
Clay Buchholz (5-7) left the game after allowing the first three batters to reach in the sixth with one run scoring on a double by Goins.
Goins had given the Blue Jays a 4-0 lead with a two-run double in the fourth.
Dickey retired the first six batters and struck out at least one in each of his seven innings. He allowed a double in the third to Stephen Drew, an infield single in the fifth to Shane Victorino and an RBI single in the sixth by David Ortiz that made it 13-1.
NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT THAT POSE
Ortiz took a big swing and miss against Dickey’s knuckleball in the first, holding his swing in the air in a statuesque pose for a few seconds. It came one day after the Tampa Bay Rays’ Chris Archer complained that Big Papi flipped his bat after a homer.
DARK CLOUDS SHOWED FUTURE FOR RED SOX
Rain clouds moved in from the south, over Boston’s dugout — with rain falling in the third. The runs started pouring on the Red Sox a few innings later.
ASKED FOR TRADE, POOR NIGHT
Boston left-hander Felix Doubront, who asked for a trade last week because he’s unhappy being a reliever, was tagged for six runs, six hits and two walks. He got his only outs on a sacrifice fly and a forceout.
“If the role is not sitting well and affecting his pitching, there needs to be a different focus in realizing his potential,” Farrell said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: With first baseman Edwin Encarnacion having a setback in rehabbing his strained right quadriceps, the Blue Jays obtained third baseman Danny Valencia from the Kansas City Royals for right-hander Liam Hendriks and catcher Erik Kratz. Toronto’s regular third baseman, Juan Francisco, has been filling in at first.
Red Sox: Catcher David Ross hobbled home on a painful right heel on Ortiz’s single in the sixth. Ross believes the pain is caused by plantar fasciitis.
ON DECK
Blue Jays: Marcus Stroman (6-2) pitches for the Blue Jays on Tuesday night and will have a tough time matching his performance against Boston last Thursday in Toronto. He allowed his only hit when Victorino led off the seventh with a single in Toronto’s 8-0 win. Stroman left after that inning.
Red Sox: Rubby De La Rosa (3-3) makes his second consecutive start against Stroman.
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