TORONTO — Jason Varitek had four RBI, Marco Scutaro scored a career-high four runs and the Boston Red Sox held off the Toronto Blue Jays 13-12 in a seesaw slugfest Monday night.

Varitek went 3 for 5 with a pair of two-run singles and Scutaro was 3 for 5 with a walk against his former team. Boston set season highs for runs and hits (18) in a wild game that lasted 4 hours, 3 minutes – the longest nine-inning game in the majors this season, according to STATS LLC.

Jose Bautista hit a three-run homer and Lyle Overbay added a solo shot for Toronto, which rallied from an early 5-0 deficit against Josh Beckett. Overbay went 3 for 5 with four RBIs and scored twice.

Scott Schoeneweis (1-0) got one out for the win and Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save.

Shawn Camp (1-1) allowed three runs and four hits in 12/3 innings.

Beckett, who had a 6.62 ERA in 12 career starts against Toronto, gave up eight runs and nine hits in three-plus innings, while Toronto’s Dana Eveland allowed seven runs and eight hits in three-plus innings.

Boston made it 5-0 with a four-run third. Varitek hit a two-run single and Adrian Beltre followed with a two-run double.

Toronto roared back in the bottom half with a six-run, 10-batter inning. Fred Lewis led off with a triple and scored on Aaron Hill’s single.

Vernon Wells doubled Hill to third, and both runners scored on Overbay’s double. After Alex Gonzalez singled, Bautista drilled a first-pitch homer into the second deck in left, his fourth of the season.

Boston reclaimed its lead in the fourth. Eveland left with runners at first and second and was replaced by Jeremy Accardo. After Kevin Youkilis loaded the bases with a single, Accardo uncorked a wild pitch. Two batters later, Varitek lined a two-run single to center.

Toronto tied it again in the bottom half. Beckett left after opening the inning with walks to Hill and Adam Lind, and Scott Atchison gave up a two-out, two-run triple to Gonzalez, making it 8-all.

Boston jumped in front again in the fifth when Dustin Pedroia singled off Camp, stole second and scored on a two-out hit by Youkilis, but Toronto tied it in the bottom half on an RBI single by Lind.

The Red Sox took the lead for good with a four-run sixth. Darnell McDonald hit an RBI double, Scutaro singled home a run and Pedroia added a two-run double.
Toronto closed to within one in the eighth on Overbay’s RBI single and Bautista’s sacrifice fly.

The Red Sox have been involved in the four longest nine-inning games of the year – two against the New York Yankees (3:48 and 3:46) during their season-opening series and one against Texas (3:46) on April 20, according to STATS.

DAISUKE MATSUZAKA threw a 69-pitch simulated game before the Red Sox played the Blue Jays, the injured right-hander’s final hurdle before returning to Boston’s starting rotation.

Manager Terry Francona said, “The ball came out of his hand pretty nice.”

Matsuzaka was placed on the 15-day disabled list April 4 with a strained neck. He went 4-6 in 12 starts last season, landing on the disabled list twice with a sore shoulder.

Speaking through a translator, Matsuzaka acknowledged being “a burden” on the struggling Red Sox. Matsuzaka is scheduled to make his season debut Saturday at Baltimore, replacing Tim Wakefield in the rotation.