Russell Martin #55 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates a 5-4 win against the Boston Red Sox in eleven innings at Fenway Park on June 13, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. Martin had the game-winning home run in the eleventh inning.Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Russell Martin delivered the go-ahead hit for the second straight day, a leadoff home run in the 11th inning Saturday that sent the Toronto Blue Jays to their 10th straight win, 5-4 over the Boston Red Sox.
The winning streak is Toronto's longest since it took 11 in a row in June 2013.
Boston, in last place in the AL East, lost its fifth straight game and fell a season-worst nine games under .500 at 27-36.
On Friday night, Martin hit a tiebreaking, bases-loaded triple during a nine-run burst in the seventh for a 13-10 victory. On Saturday, he drove a 2-0 pitch from Matt Barnes (2-2) deep into the left-centre field stands for his 10th homer of the season.
Brett Cecil pitched a perfect 11th for his fourth save, and second in two days, to preserve the win for Aaron Loup (2-3).
Toronto took a 3-0 lead in the second when it loaded the bases on singles by its first three batters —Edwin Encarnacion, Chris Colabello and Martin. Any possibility of a repeat of Friday night's nine-run inning, when the first nine hitters scored before a batter was out, ended when Justin Smoak struck out.
But Kevin Pillar followed with an RBI single and Ryan Goins hit a two-run single.
The Blue Jays went ahead 4-0 in the fourth on consecutive singles by Pillar, Goins and Jose Reyes. Then they managed just three hits, all singles, in the next six innings.
The Red Sox began their comeback against R.A. Dickey with three runs in the fourth on an RBI single by Xander Bogaerts and a two-run single by Pablo Sandoval. They tied it in the sixth on David Ortiz's eighth homer of the season.
Boston wasted a bases-loaded opportunity with one out in the seventh when Liam Hendriks struck out Ortiz and Bogaerts.
Toronto prevented another run from scoring in the third when right fielder Jose Bautista leaped at the right-centre field fence in front of Boston's bullpen to take a potential leadoff homer away from Rusney Castillo.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: DH Encarnacion played his fourth game since missing two with a painful left shoulder. He went 2 for 5 and is 6 for 15 since returning.
Red Sox: CF Mookie Betts missed the game with a sore back. He was hurt Friday night when he ran into the low fence near the Boston bullpen in right-centre field while chasing Smoak's triple in the second. He left the game in the top of the third. ... 3B Sandoval left the game in the top of the seventh with tightness in his right quadriceps. ... LF Hanley Ramirez started after missing Friday night's game with soreness in his left knee and left hamstring.
ON DECK
Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada (3-3, 3.78) tries to win his third straight start in the finale of the three-game series. He's allowed three runs or fewer in five of his last six starts.
Red Sox: Rookie sensation Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 0.44) makes his fourth start since being called up from Triple-A Pawtucket for his major league debut May 28. The right-hander obtained from Baltimore at last year's trade deadline has allowed one run on eight hits with 21 strikeouts and seven walks in 20 2-3 innings.