TORONTO -- In what appeared to be an 11-inning game of offensive chicken, Brett Lawrie blinked first.
The Toronto rookie sensation blasted a walkoff, solo home run in the bottom of the 11th Monday to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 1-0 Labour Day win over the Boston Red Sox before a charged Rogers Centre crowd of 27,573. The win was Toronto's second in their past seven games and comes on the heels of a weekend sweep in New York at the hands of the Yankees.
Toronto (70-71) is now 5-8 vs. Boston in 2011.
Both teams had numerous opportunities to cash in runners through the first nine frames but combined to strand 16 runners. Lawrie's homer -- his eighth in 30 games since making his major-league debut on Aug. 5 -- made a winner out of Shawn Camp (3-3), while Boston reliever Dan Wheeler took the loss (2-2).
Prior to the game, Blue Jays manager John Farrell said he was curious to see how 21-year-old starter Henderson Alvarez would fare against the left-handed-hitting-heavy Red Sox after throwing eight shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles last week. He got an emphatic reply from his rookie starter in the form of six shutout innings of four-hit, one-walk, four-strikeout ball to extend his scoreless streak to 14 innings.
Farrell -- who returned to the Blue Jays dugout Monday after missing the previous 10 games while battling pneumonia -- said Alvarez was one of the players who had impressed him most during his absence, yet he was eager to see how the young Venezuelan would adapt to the veteran Red Sox hitters.
"For 21 years of age and a converted outfielder, there's a very good awareness of what he's got to do and how he reads hitters' reactions to him," Farrell said prior to the game. "It's been pretty impressive to have that feel on the mound and then go out and execute."
NOTES: Earlier Monday, the Blue Jays reinstated RHP Dustin McGowan from the 60-day DL. Farrell said Monday the 29-year-old will be used out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season, and will most likely pitch at some point during Tuesday's game against Boston ... Shortstop Yunel Escobar missed his second straight game after injuring his left wrist Saturday. There was hope he might play Monday and he's still listed as day-to-day.
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