A tough weekend for Clay Buchholz ended with a win and an appreciative handshake from manager John Farrell.
Dustin Pedroia on Sunday hit an RBI double in the 11th inning as the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 to avoid a three-game sweep.
Boston recorded their 13th comeback victory one day after losing 10-9 on an infield single in the ninth.
“On the heels of two really tough days up here I thought we battled back, took the lead, gave it up and kept coming,” Farrell said. “I couldn’t be more proud with the energy and effort.”
Blake Swihart drew a one-out walk against Gavin Floyd (2-4) and moved to third when Floyd threw a wild ball four to the next batter, Mookie Betts.
Drew Storen came on to face Pedroia, who hit a ground-rule double to right-center. Pedroia went two for six with two RBIs.
Xander Bogaerts followed with an RBI groundout. He went one for six, extending his hitting streak to 22 games.
Removed from Boston’s rotation on Friday after losing his previous two starts, Buchholz (3-5) worked one inning for the win in his first relief appearance since Aug. 17, 2008.
“He handled it very well,” Farrell said. “He had a good cutter, a good fastball.”
As Buchholz dressed in the clubhouse afterward, Farrell stopped by his locker for a congratulatory handshake.
“He understands how I’ve felt about the whole situation,” Buchholz said. “I don’t think anybody would be human as a baseball player if they didn’t take it as a slap in the face or as: ‘You’ve got to get better.’ That’s sort of how I took it and he understood that.”
Eduardo Rodriguez is scheduled to replace Buchholz in Boston’s rotation beginning with today’s game at Baltimore.
Koji Uehara finished for his first save as Boston became the first American League team to reach 30 wins.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Floyd is “worn down” after pitching three times in four days and suggested Toronto would make a move to reinforce their bullpen.
Jose Bautista hit a two-run homer for Toronto, who had won a season-high four straight. It was the 14th loss of the season for the Blue Jays’ bullpen, matching Atlanta and Cincinnati for most in the majors.
Toronto trailed 3-2 before Edwin Encarnacion tied it with a leadoff homer against Heath Hembree in the eighth, his 11th.
Making his first start in Toronto since helping the Blue Jays reach the American League Championship Series in October last year, David Price gave up two runs and five hits in 6-1/3 innings, leaving to a loud ovation from the crowd of 47,916.
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