Daisuke Matsuzaka delivered one of his best starts in recent memory and Jed Lowrie went 4-for-5 with a home and four RBI and the Boston Red Sox cruised to a Patriots' Day win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, 9-1. It was just Boston's fifth win of the season, but their third straight.
Dice-K allowed just one hit over seven shutout innings, a first-inning single by Jose Bautista, while striking out three and walking just one batter. It was just the third time Matsuzaka has gone at least seven shutout innings since the start of the '09 season, and the first time he's accomplished it since June 7. His ERA dropped from 12.86 to 6.43 on Monday.
Offensively, Boston's bats continued their recent hot streak as they pounded out 13 hits, including three home runs. The Red Sox were led by Jed Lowrie, who had four hits and raised his batting average to .516. Lowrie now has a hit in seven straight games and has managed two hits or more in four of those contests.
The Red Sox, winners of three straight and four of their past seven games, head out for a nine-game road trip, beginning with two games against the Oakland Athletics. The first game of that quick series is Tuesday night at 10:05 p.m. ET.