Music: {allcanada} Jays show total package

TORONTO – As heartening as a two-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox was for the Toronto Blue Jays, the more important thing for them was the manner in which they did it.

Disciplined, determined at-bats. Opportunistic base-running. Solid pitching. Attention to detail. Put together, it was exactly the style of baseball they must employ in order to succeed.

All the elements were there in Wednesday night's 9-3 victory over the Red Sox, giving the Blue Jays (17-20) just their second series victory in their past 10 attempts.

A five-run seventh, highlighted by David Cooper's bases-loaded walk, John McDonald's two-run double and Rajai Davis's two-run single, broke open a tight contest before a crowd of 19,163, but it was a host of well-executed plays earlier on that set the stage for the big inning.

Having fallen behind 1-0 in the first on Kevin Youkilis's RBI single, the Blue Jays took the lead in the third on Corey Patterson's RBI single and Aaron Hill's run-scoring groundout.

They added on to it in the fourth on McDonald's solo shot and Yunel Escobar's sacrifice fly that cashed in Davis, who singled and stole his way to third.

A solid Jesse Litsch (4-2) and the bullpen proceeded to make the lead stick, even after solo shots from the fearsome Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz off of Litsch made it a 4-3 game in the sixth.

Casey Janssen recorded the final out of that inning and then delivered a scoreless seventh, thanks in part to his work keeping Carl Crawford close at first base following a leadoff single. That allowed J.P. Arencibia to throw out the speedster trying to steal second as Jarrod Saltalamacchia took strike three looking, dashing the hopes of a rally by the Red Sox (17-20).

There was more heady baseball in the bottom of the frame, as Arencibia worked a two-out walk to load the bases against an erratic John Lackey (2-5), and Cooper followed by taking all five pitches for a walk as the veteran right-hander failed to make the rookie chase.

McDonald worked a 2-1 count before ripping his double down the left-field line, while Davis, capping a 4-for-4 day, sent a 1-0 knuckleball from Tim Wakefield to left to make it 9-3.

Litsch went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out four. He was cruising until the solo shots in the sixth nearly spoiled his night.

He's now won three of four starts since returning from triple-A Las Vegas on April 26.

He was helped in the field by a well-turned 4-6-3 double play off Saltalamacchia's bat to end the second and fought back from a 3-0 count to get Jacoby Ellsbury on a groundout to short to strand runners on the corners in the fifth, and got a pretty pick from McDonald on a Youkilis laser to third in the sixth.

Lackey allowed all nine runs on nine hits and five walks over 6.2 innings.

Wakefield, at 44 years 282 days, became the oldest player to ever take the field for the Red Sox when he came on in the seventh, passing Deacon McGuire, who was 44 years 280 days when he last played for Boston on Aug. 24, 1908.

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CASEY AT THE BAT? The depleted Blue Jays bench has prompted manager John Farrell to canvas his pitchers to see who, in the event of an emergency, can be called upon to play the field or run the bases.

"If we needed a pitcher in the outfield, we'd probably go to (Casey) Janssen," said Farrell. "Janssen, (Jason) Frasor and possibly (Shawn) Camp are pinch-running candidates. But hopefully we don't have to get to that point."

The Blue Jays are currently carrying 13 pitchers and with first baseman Adam Lind sidelined with back stiffness, they have just two players on their bench.

Lind continues to make improvements and was scheduled to hit off a tee Wednesday and progress to some baseball activities Thursday.

If all goes well, Farrell said "it's possible" that Lind could be ready to go Friday for the series opener in Minnesota.

The pitcher/hitter split, meanwhile, may be addressed soon as Jayson Nix's bruised shin continues to improve. Farrell said the utilityman could be ready to return sometime on the weekend or early next week.

"He feels some sensation in the leg when he's running at full speed, but he's getting closer," said Farrell. "He'll join (single-A) Dunedin starting (Thursday)."

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BYE, BYE PODS: Having fallen behind prospect Eric Thames and veteran farmhand Dewayne Wise on the depth chart, outfielder Scott Podsednik asked for and was granted his release from triple-A Las Vegas by the Blue Jays Wednesday.

Podsednik was signed to a minor-league contract early in spring training but arrived at camp fighting a case of plantar fasciitis and was forced to play catchup from then on.

He has been at Vegas for about two weeks, batting .254 with two doubles, two triples and six RBIs in 14 games, with no call to the Jays imminent.

"We don't have out-clauses but we do have what we call a common sense rule," GM Alex Anthopoulos said in explaining the decision. "Especially with guys like Scott that are quality big league players, if we don't have a spot for them at the time, and we have people ahead of them on the depth chart, we're not going to stand in their way."

Anthopoulos said that although Podesdnik's play had improved of late, "talking to the Vegas staff, if we had a need he wasn't the first guy up."