TORONTO – Typically a bottom-of-the-order guy, shortstop Marco Scutaro was surprised to see his name in the sixth spot in the Boston Red Sox lineup when he showed up for Tuesday night’s game.

“I was like ‘Are we trying today?’ ” Scutaro joked.

Not just trying but succeeding.

Jon Lester tied a season high with 11 strikeouts in seven innings to win his fourth straight decision, Scutaro and David Ortiz each matched a career high with four hits, and the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 14-0.

“These nights it’s definitely fun to be on our side,” Lester said.

Lester (15-6) allowed three hits, all singles, and walked one to improve to 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA in five starts since losing Aug. 10 at Minnesota. He’s also 4-0 in his last six starts against Toronto.

“He threw strikes; he threw his cutter with some power to it,” Red Sox Manager Terry Francona said. “That was good to see.”

Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Josh Reddick homered as the Red Sox matched a season high with 20 hits and scored at least two runs in each of the first five innings. It was the first time in franchise history Boston has achieved the feat, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau provided to the Blue Jays.

“That was a night we needed,” Francona said.

Scutaro has batted sixth just one other time this season, making the bulk of his starts batting ninth. Moving up in the order seemed to agree with him; he matched a career high with three doubles, drove in four runs and reached base five times.

“I’ve been hitting the ball good for three weeks and it seems like everything I hit is right at people or they’re making diving plays,” Scutaro said. “It’s nice to have a day like this.”

Francona said he moved Scutaro up to give the lineup better balance. It paid off.

“He had a great night,” Francona said. “He swung the bat terrific.”

The Red Sox finished with nine doubles and 11 extra-base hits, both season highs.

Kyle Weiland pitched the final two innings for Boston.

Toronto lost for the fourth time in five games and 10th in the last 15.

After losing 1-0 in 11 innings in the series opener Monday, the Red Sox jumped on Blue Jays left-hander Luis Perez (3-3) for four runs while batting around in the first inning. Adrian Gonzalez hit an RBI double, Ortiz and Scutaro had back-to-back RBI singles, and Carl Crawford capped it with an RBI double.

Gonzalez singled home a run in the second and Kevin Youkilis followed with an RBI double but was thrown out trying to advance to third.

Boston made it 8-0 in the third on Saltalamacchia’s homer, a two-run drive to center. Perez left three batters later after Dustin Pedroia reached on an error by third baseman Brett Lawrie.

Perez, winless in three starts, allowed a career-high eight runs and 10 hits in 22/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one.

Boston piled on with three more against left-hander Rommie Lewis in the fourth. Ortiz and Scutaro hit consecutive RBI doubles and two outs later, Darnell McDonald drove in Scutaro with a single to right.

Scutaro made it 13-0 in the fifth with a two-run double.

After replacing Jacoby Ellsbury in the sixth, Reddick made it 14-0 with a solo drive to right in the eighth.

Boston infielder Nate Spears made his major league debut in the fifth, replacing Crawford. Jed Lowrie came on for Gonzalez in the seventh.