'85 Blue Jays take final 3 from '03 Red Sox in opener

GAME 1: Pedro Martinez pitched for the Sawx and that's really all you need to know. Dave Steib was on the hill for Toronto, but he didn't have it...like it really mattered since Pedro threw 8 innings of 1 run ball and Todd Jones mopped up in the ninth. Steib gave up 6 in 7 innings of work and Luis Leal added some more kerosene to the fire as the Red Sox cruise to take the opener 8-2. Manny had 3 hits including his first homer of the season. Papi had 2 hits and a homer of his own as Boton took the opener on the road in the first KOD game played out of the lower 48.

GAME 2: Toronto countered with Jimmy Key, who threw a complete game 5 hit shutout against one of the most potent offenses ever assembled. Derek Lowe went the distance himself yielding only 3 earned runs (4 total). Toronto scored 2 runs in the 4th on some singles and 2 Gabe Kapler errors on a wind blown ball hit by George Bell. Willie Upshaw had a 2 out single for the 2nd run. Jesse Barfield added a solo shot in the 6th.


GAME 3: The series shifted to Fenway and so did the theme. The first two games were dominated by pitching. Game 3 proved the offense can get on track in a great hitter's park like Fenway. Starters Doyle Alexander and Tim Wakefield were dreadful at best. Alexander somehow managed to stick around for 8 innings before Gary Lavelle and Jim Acker came on to close it out. Toronto played some small ball and went up 3-0 in the 3rd. Alexander looked to be cruising until Boston posted a 5 spot in the 4th. Varitek and Milar had big 2 run doubles in the inning as Alexander looked to be on the brink of being replaced. Toronto cut the deficit to 1 by scoring 1 run in the 5th, then they exploded for 5 big ones in the 6th as George Bell hit a tape measure shot onto Landsdowne Street.

GAME 4: Toronto scored 10 runs for the second consecutive game as Boston's starter, John Burkett gave up 7 in less than 7 innings of work. Toronto's Jim Clancy was shaky as he allowed 4 earned runs in his 6 innings of work. Dennis Lamp came out of the pen in long relief and shut the door on Boston. Bill Caudill needed some work and finished up the final 2 outs. The one bright not for Boston was Manny Ramirez hitting 2 homers, which gives him 3 on the season. Manny Fernandez was the catalyst for Toronto as he had 3 hits, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI's.