Blue Jays bats baste Red Sox to claim series opener between AL East's top foes

Hyun Jin Ryu pitched seven masterful innings, light-hitting Danny Jansen played a key offensive role and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 8-0 on Tuesday night.

Ryu (4-2) scattered four hits and struck out seven. Travis Bergen, Tyler Chatwood and Rafael Dolis completed the five-hitter.

"It was vintage Ryu," Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said. "For him to go seven innings against that lineup, that's a pretty good lineup."

Ryu was coming off a win in Atlanta last Wednesday when the lefty gave up one run over seven innings.

"I feel really good right now, physically," Ryu said through a translator.

Jansen had a second-inning RBI single and drew a pivotal walk during a three-run fourth as Toronto won for the ninth time in 12 games and improved to a season-high six games over .500. Jansen had two hits in three at-bats and raised his batting average to .143.

Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez (5-2) gave up five runs and 11 hits in five innings. The lefty has gone five or more innings in 36 consecutive starts dating to May 4, 2019, the longest active streak in the majors.

"Command is not where he usually is and that's something he needs, regardless of his stuff," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "I think the cutter actually is bigger than usual. We'll try to find out why. There's been a lot of contact. Teams are doing a good job of staying with him and going the other way. We'll go back to the drawing board and see what we can do."

The Blue Jays are 10-5 this season at TD Ballpark, their spring training facility. Toronto entered averaging an AL-best 6.14 runs in home games.

Toronto is playing its third and final homestand in Dunedin before relocating to Buffalo, New York, next month. COVID-19 restrictions are keeping the Blue Jays from playing in Canada.

Jansen put the Blue Jays ahead 1-0 on an RBI single in the second off Rodriguez. It was just his second hit in 26 at-bats against left-handed pitchers this season.

Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette had run-scoring hits in a three-run fourth that made it 4-0.

After Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a leadoff double, Jansen drew a two-out walk. Semien drove in Gurriel with a single and Jansen scored on right fielder Hunter Renfroe's errant throw to third. Bichette added an RBI double.

"You go to that walk," Cora said. "Then after that Semien gets that bloop single, we make the error, they score two. Everything with two outs. We weren't able to stop the bleeding."

Gurriel also contributed an RBI single in the fifth.

Teoscar Hernandez had three hits, including an RBI single in the sixth, for the Blue Jays. Hernandez has driven in 17 runs in 17 games since returning from the COVID-19 injured list.

Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer to right field in the eighth.