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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BOSTON (AP) -- A 10-run lead with David Wells on the mound should
mean an easy day for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Wrong.
|  | | David Wells didn't pitch a great game, but he tied Randy Johnson for the major league lead with 11 wins. |
The Blue Jays nearly blew the big lead as Wells tied Randy
Johnson for the major league lead with his 11th win, hanging on for
an 11-10 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.
"It was a weird game, that's for sure," Toronto shortstop Alex
Gonzalez said. "Usually, with David Wells out there you expect
some quick innings."
Wells (11-2), who has posted his worst career numbers in Fenway
Park, gave up seven runs -- five earned -- and 11 hits in 6 1/3
innings. Six runs came after being handed the 10-run advantage.
"When we got 11 runs, I got too comfortable," Wells said. "I
was going out there and letting them hit it instead of making my
pitches. I just got careless."
Billy Koch, who pitched the final two innings for his 14th save,
had to stop a ninth-inning threat.
After Gonzalez made a diving play on Jeff Frye to open the
ninth, Nomar Garciaparra's pop fly to right was misplayed into a
double by Raul Mondesi and second baseman Craig Grebeck.
Koch then induced Carl Everett to foul out, and struck out
pinch-hitter Brian Daubach to end it.
"You don't laugh it off," Toronto manager Jim Fregosi said.
"It's a lot easier if you're on the winning end. If you're on the
losing end, you don't laugh it off."
Boston starter Ramon Martinez (5-4) couldn't get out of the
fourth inning, allowing seven runs and seven hits in three-plus
innings.
"That was some game," Boston manager Jimy Williams said. "You
know you're down 11-1, and to comeback and make it 11-10 with six
outs to go ... You can't ask any more of these kids the way they
fought back."
Despite the loss, the Red Sox remained a half game ahead of New
York in the AL East after the Yankees dropped a 10-9 decision to
the White Sox.
"We'll take more positive than negative things," Garciaparra
said.
Tony Batista avenged a rough game one night earlier by homering
in his first at-bat and Gonzalez drove in four runs with a two-run
homer and two-run single. Brad Fullmer had a two-run homer and Jose
Cruz added a two-run double as Toronto built an 11-1 lead in the
fifth inning.
Batista, who struck out twice with the tying run on third in
Friday's 7-4 loss, gave Wells a 3-0 lead in the second with his
16th homer following singles by Carlos Delgado and Fullmer.
In the fourth, Delgado and Batista sandwiched walks around
Fullmer's single to load the bases. Cruz followed with a two-run
double and Gonzalez singled to chase Martinez and make it 7-1.
Fullmer and Gonzalez each hit two-run homers off Tim Wakefield
in the fifth, making it 11-1.
The Red Sox then went to work offensively.
Jason Varitek homered leading off in the bottom of fifth. Darren
Lewis had a run-scoring groundout. Garciaparra's RBI single scored
the third run, and Frye scored on the same play when center-fielder
Cruz fired the ball into the stands behind the third-base dugout
for an error.
The Red Sox got two runners on with one out in the seventh off
Wells. Paul Quantrill came in and forced in two runs by hitting
Garciaparra with a pitch and walking Everett. With two outs,
Varitek hit a three-run double to make it 11-10. Pedro Borbon then
retired Troy O'Leary to end the inning.
"It would have been a tough loss. It really would have,"
Gonzalez said. "These are the games you have to win if you want to
be a winning team.
Game notes
Batista's homer was Toronto's 16th consecutive game with a
home run, extending its record set Friday. ... Delgado singled to
right in the second despite a shift, extending his hitting streak
to 12 games. ... Frye improved his hitting streak to 11 games. ...
Wells, who came in 7-10 with a 5.71 ERA in Fenway, beat the Red Sox
in Boston on May 25. ... The game's start was delayed 41 minutes by
rain. ... The Red Sox have signed 13 of their top 25 picks from the
June draft.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
Sosa downplays rumor that he wants to play for Red Sox
RECAPS
Detroit 8
Cleveland 6
Texas 5
Tampa Bay 0
Chi. White Sox 10
NY Yankees 9
Toronto 11
Boston 10
Anaheim 8
Baltimore 3
Seattle 12
Minnesota 3
Oakland 10
Kansas City 4
Chicago Cubs 1
Montreal 0
San Francisco 6
Houston 4
St. Louis 4
Los Angeles 3
San Diego 3
Cincinnati 1
Florida 4
Pittsburgh 3
Philadelphia 9
Atlanta 3
Colorado 14
Arizona 5
Milwaukee 3
NY Mets 2
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