TORONTO — Wade Miley warmed up in the bullpen, then waited nearly a half-hour to take the mound for the bottom of the first inning Thursday night.

In between, Boston staked its starter to an eight-run lead.

David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez had consecutive homers in the first, Xander Bogaerts finished with four hits and the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 12-6.

In danger of cooling down as the Red Sox racked up runs in the first, Miley played catch in the area outside the Red Sox clubhouse beneath the first-base stands. Not once but twice.

“I’ve never done that before,” said Miley, who partnered with fellow starters Eduardo Rodriguez and Justin Masterson for his impromptu throwing sessions.

Brock Holt also had four hits and Bogaerts drove in two runs as the last-place Red Sox took 3 of 4 from Toronto. Boston had a season-high 19 hits.

Advertisement

Leadoff man Mookie Betts had two hits before Miley (8-7) threw a pitch.

“What Mookie, Brock and Bogie were able to do certainly set the tone for us offensively,” Manager John Farrell said.

Miley won for the third time in four starts and snapped a five-start losing streak against AL East opponents. He allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings, matching a career high with seven walks.

“It was a grind, no doubt,” Miley said. “I had really no fastball command.”

Miley said the long wait wasn’t a factor in his wildness, adding he was more than happy with the cushion.

“I’ll take a back seat to that any day of the week,” Miley said.

Advertisement

Ortiz hit a three-run homer in Boston’s opening inning and Ramirez followed with a second-deck blast, the fourth time this season the Red Sox have gone back to back.

Blue Jays starter Matt Boyd didn’t record an out in his second big league start, leaving after the first seven batters reached safely.

Boyd (0-2) allowed seven runs and six hits. He was replaced by Liam Hendriks after walking Mike Napoli.

“They were hitting everything he threw up there,” Manager John Gibbons said.

Hendriks didn’t help out his teammate, giving up a two-run triple to the first batter he faced, Alejandro De Aza.

The Red Sox sent 12 men to the plate in the first and scored eight runs on nine hits, both season highs for an inning. It was the most runs allowed by Toronto in one inning this season.

Advertisement

Boyd, who gave up three home runs to Texas in his big league debut last Saturday, saw his ERA rise from 5.40 to 14.85.

“Count on me learning from this and being better from this,” Boyd said. “It won’t happen again.”

Dave Stieb is the only other Blue Jays pitcher to face seven batters without recording an out. Boston was also the opponent when it happened to Stieb in 1990.

Boyd was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo following the game and reliever Todd Redmond was designated for assignment. The Blue Jays will make corresponding moves Friday.

Toronto cut the deficit in half with a four-run second, sending 10 men to the plate, but left the bases loaded when Chris Colabello grounded into a fielder’s choice.

Colabello batted with the bases loaded again in the fourth but struck out to end the inning. He left nine runners stranded in his final four at-bats.

Gibbons was ejected for arguing in the fifth after Danny Valencia was called out trying to score from second on Devon Travis’ single to center. Umpire Gerry Davis called Valencia out and the call stood after replay review.

Russell Martin and Valencia hit back-to-back homers off Craig Breslow in the ninth.

Copy the Story Link

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.