TORONTO — Boston lefty Payton Tolle silenced the Blue Jays with a two-hit, eight-inning gem and Caleb Durbin hit an eighth-inning grand slam as the Red Sox blanked Toronto 7-0 Thursday. Durbin’s 12th homer of the season came off Toronto reliever Chase Lee and helped the Red Sox (65-56) escape town with one win in the four-game set. The Red Sox have won Tolle’s last seven starts. In his 91-pitch effort before 43,442 at Rogers Centre, Tolle (8-6) issued a game-opening walk to Charles McAdoo. He advanced to third after a bloop single to centre from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer ground out. But Kazuma Okamoto fouled out to end the inning. Beginning with the Springer and Okamoto outs, the Red Sox southpaw faced the minimum of 23 Blue Jays (59-64) in his final 7 2/3 innings. Tolle surrendered only two hits with two walks and four strikeouts. He also got five outs on weak pop-ups in foul territory. Max Scherzer (1-5) is still looking for his first win since his opening start on Mar. 31. He lasted only five innings because of a 26-pitch first inning and a 28-pitch fourth, yielding a run on three hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. The Red Sox snatched an early lead in the first inning, when Wilyer Abreu walked with two out and scored on Willson Contreras’s double to the right-field gap, and added two more in the ninth. Takeaways Blue Jays: Andres Gimenez walked in his first at-bat, but finished 0 for 2 to snap his seven-game hit streak. Red Sox: The visitors went 4-9 in the season series against Toronto for Boston’s most losses against any team in 2026. Key moment The Red Sox loaded the bases with two out, but Scherzer coaxed Andrew Monasterio into a right-field fly to end a threat in the fourth inning. Key stat Even though the Red Sox had lost five straight before their win on Thursday, they still have the best record in MLB since the trade deadline at 19-8, one victory better than the idle Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves, both at 18-8. Up next Toronto veteran Shane Bieber (3-2) will open the three-game weekend set at home on Friday against New York Yankees righty Gerrit Cole (6-5). This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2026. Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press
