The streak had to end some time.
Rick Porcello just didn’t want it to be his fault.
Justin Smoak homered and Kevin Pillar hit a two-run double as the Toronto Blue Jays chased the Boston right-hander in a five-run third inning on Friday night, beating the Red Sox 13-7 to snap their 10-game winning streak.
Pillar had four of Toronto’s 14 hits and Smoak had three, including another homer in the eighth. They drove in four runs apiece.
“This one’s completely on me,” Porcello said. “We’re playing great baseball right now. Just had a 10-game winning streak. Not going to let one game ruin that.”
Dwight Smith Jr. also homered for Toronto, which won for the second time in six games. Jake Petricka (1-0) pitched two innings of shutout ball in relief of Ryan Borucki, who lasted just three-plus innings.
“That was a Fenway special,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “Borucki got indoctrinated a little bit tonight to Fenway Park. But, you know, he hung in there.”
Mookie Betts had three hits, including two triples, to raise his major league-leading batting average to .357. J.D. Martinez had two hits for the Red Sox, who won 15 of their previous 17 games and will head into the All-Star break with the best record in baseball and the AL East lead.
“I’ll take 10 in a row and a loss after that,” Martinez said. “I’m good if we do that the rest of the year.”
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had two hits — and two of Toronto’s four errors. Yangervis Solarte also had a pair of hits.
The Red Sox led 1-0 after one and posted five runs in the second to make it 6-3, getting a two-run triple off the Green Monster from Betts to take the lead. But Porcello (11-4) couldn’t hold it, allowing Smoak’s leadoff homer, Pillar’s two-run double and then a two-run shot by Smith.
“We knew it was going to happen. They’re going to have one of these,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We turn the page.”
Toronto added three in the eighth on RBI singles by Smoak and Pillar and a run-scoring double by Kendrys Morales. Smoak made it 13-7 in the eighth with his 16th homer of the season.
WHAT WINNING STREAK?
Smoak said he hadn’t realized how hot the Red Sox had been.
“I didn’t know they had a 10-game winning streak, sorry,” he told reporters. “They’re a really good ballclub. So you know it’s going to be a tough game every time you go out there against those guys.”
