Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Mike Lowell hit the go-ahead home run and Jed Lowrie added an insurance RBI double in the eighth inning, as Boston clipped Toronto, 7-5, in the opener of a three-game set at Rogers Centre.
Lowrie and Lowell both drove in two runs, while David Ortiz doubled twice and J.D. Drew homered for the Red Sox, who were coming off a four-game split with the Yankees in the Bronx.
Felix Doubront (1-1) coughed up the lead in the sixth but was credited with the win. Jonathan Papelbon turned in a scoreless ninth for his 29th save. Starter Daisuke Matsuzaka worked 5 2/3 frames, allowing six hits and four runs with seven strikeouts.
"Tonight was just a microcosm of our season," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "We kept on playing and we ended up doing a lot of good things. We just found ways to come back and win."
Travis Snider doubled and hit a three-run shot while Jose Bautista and Adam Lind hit solo homers for the Blue Jays, who had won five of six coming in.
Shawn Camp (3-2) took the loss after allowing three hits and two runs while recording two outs in the eighth. Ricky Romero got the start and was battered for eight hits and five runs in six innings.
"I let up too many opportunities early in the game," Romero admitted. "I let them come back every time I made a mistake. When I kept the ball down I did pretty good, but they hit every pitch I didn't get."
Lowell's two-out solo shot in the eighth once again put Boston in the lead by a 6-5 count, then Ryan Kalish followed with a single and Lowrie drove him in with a double off the top of the wall in center.
That was enough for Manny Delcarmen, who retired Toronto in order in the home half. In the ninth, Papelbon allowed a one-out double to Snider but retired Bautista on a grounder and Aaron Hill on a flyout to clinch the win.
The Sox scored three times in the second on Adrian Beltre's RBI double, Lowrie's ground-rule double and a Jacoby Ellsbury single. Lind hit a one-out solo shot in the home half.
Lowell's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the fourth gave the Sox a three-run edge but Snider's monster three-run blast in Toronto's turn tied the game, 4-4.
Drew launched a solo homer into the second deck of right field in the fifth to put the Sox back on top, then the Jays came up empty in the home half despite chasing Matsuzaka -- leaving the bases loaded.
No worries for the Jays, though, as Bautista slugged his 35th homer of the season to left for a 5-5 deadlock in the seventh.
Boston has won eight of 10 over Toronto this season, including six of seven at Rogers Centre...Drew's homer was his first since July 22 at Seattle...It was Lowell's first road home run of the season, with the last occurring on September 6, 2009 at Chicago...Bautista has four longballs in eight August games...Toronto upped its major-league best home run total to 178, 29 more than the Red Sox...Jays centerfielder Vernon Wells sat again with a dislocated big right toe on Sunday.