{allcanada} Jays hope to end losing skid

Jon Lester will try to win his fifth straight Tuesday night when the Red Sox open a two-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Toronto lost for the seventh time in nine games and dropped a season-high five games below .500 with a 10-5 defeat to Detroit on Monday.

Toronto dropped the final three games of that four-game set, getting outscored 24-7. The team is hitting .215 in eight games this month.

The Blue Jays will turn to Kyle Drabek (2-2, 4.50), who has lost his last two starts. He gave up three runs in 5 2-3 innings and walked four for the second consecutive start in a 3-1 loss at Tampa Bay on Thursday.

"When he got a couple of guys on, I felt he had the tendency to overthrow rather than continue to pitch," manager John Farrell told the Blue Jays' official website. "But I thought overall, he did a much better job of commanding the strike zone, even though the walks were there again today."

Drabek lasted 2 1-3 innings in his previous outing against New York, the only time in 10 major league starts he failed to complete five innings.

The right-hander is making his first start against the Red Sox.

Boston (17-18) is again in position to even its record after an 0-6 start put the team into an early hole. The Red Sox have been a game below on two other occasions since being 0-1, and have lost the ensuing game both times.

If Boston can improve to .500 on Tuesday, it would be the latest it took the team to reach the break-even mark for the first time in a season since 1996, when the Red Sox didn't even their record until Aug. 22.

Having Lester (4-1, 2.33 ERA) on the mound gives Boston an excellent chance at reaching .500. He has won his last four starts behind a 1.33 ERA while pitching at least six innings each time.

The left-hander went seven innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, allowing a solo homer in the second while striking out a season-high 11 in a 7-3 victory. He outdueled Dan Haren, who entered with a 1.76 ERA.

Lester's winning streak began against Toronto on April 17, when he surrendered one run in six innings of an 8-1 victory. He improved to 8-4 with a 3.30 ERA in 14 career starts against the Blue Jays, winning five of the last six.

Boston will be looking to win its fourth straight after taking the final three of a four-game series against Minnesota. The Red Sox won 2-1 in 11 innings Monday on Carl Crawford's RBI double.

The double was Crawford's only hit of the night, but extended his hitting streak to nine games after his dreadful start. He's now hitting .211.

"He's still settling in," catcher Jason Varitek said.

Boston took three of four last month at home against Toronto (15-20), outscoring the Blue Jays 21-3 in three straight wins.

Jed Lowrie went 9 for 15 with two homers and eight RBIs in the series for the Red Sox, who have won 10 of 12 at Rogers Centre.

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