Blue Jays-Red Sox: Toronto Struggles in Lackluster 4-3 Loss to Boston

If last night's heart-breaking loss didn't put the Jays out of playoff contention, then today's 4-3 loss certainly did.

Roy Halladay did all he could, pitching on three days rest, but the offense stayed quiet until the latter innings of the game. it proved to be too little, too late.

Halladay gave up a couple of runs early, a run-scoring grounder in the first off the bat of David Ortiz and an RBI single from Coco Crisp in the second, putting Toronto behind, 2-1.

He settled down after that and didn't give up a run until the seventh inning, but it was unearned. Lyle Overbay made a rare error and Coco Crisp capitalized with his second run-scoring single of the game.

B.J. Ryan gave up a run as well, the winning one, on a sacrifice fly from Kevin Youkilis after David Ortiz hit a very rare triple.

Halladay finished the game with seven innings pitched, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits, zero walks, while striking out five batters. B.J. Ryan gave up one run in the eighth.

Jon Lester's only blemish in the game came in the first inning when Jose Batista hit his second home run as a Jay, giving Toronto a early 1-0 lead.

Lester settled down after that, finishing the game with eight strong innings pitched, giving up just that one run on four hits, two walks, while striking out six batters.

Jonathon Papelbon was not his usual self when coming in to close the ninth. Adam Lind and Scott Rolen both managed RBI, and if not for a cheating umpire, the Jays likely would have tied the game.

Overbay sliced a pitch into the left-center-field gap. He attempted to move to second base for a double, and his left hand appeared to touch the bag before he was tagged out by Dustin Pedroia.

Instead, Overbay threw his arms in the air in disgust after being called out. Two groundouts and one run later, Papelbon notched his 38th save, and Toronto picked up its third loss in the four-game series.

Up next: Shaun Marcum (9-6) starts off a series against the lowly Baltimore Orioles and Chris Waters (2-3).

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?