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BOSTON -- Two months ago the Red Sox hit bottom. Antoine Bethea Jersey . Now theyre playing sky high. Boston won its fifth straight series with a 10-4 win Wednesday over the Toronto Blue Jays with six runs in the first inning against a wild Ricky Romero and with the help of David Ortizs 399th career homer. After blowing a nine-run lead and losing to the New York Yankees 15-9 on April 21, the Red Sox were at 4-10 and manager Bobby Valentine said, "If this isnt bottom, well find some new ends to the earth." They immediately turned it around with six straight wins and have the ALs third best record, 36-25, since that low point. "I wasnt sure" that would be the bottom, Valentine said after Wednesdays win, "but I believed it. Things were going so wrong and we couldnt catch a break. ... I think things turned around because guys believed it, too." Believing and improving, though, are two different things. "We all knew that that was the cellar and it was not going to get any worse," Cody Ross said. "You still have to go out and play and perform and since then weve been having fun. Our main thing is to win series. We did that here. Now we can go on the road with some confidence and make a run before the All-Star break." The Red Sox are at their highest point in the standings, a season-best five games over .500 at 40-35. Theyre tied with Tampa Bay for third place in the AL East, the first time this year theyre not in fourth or fifth. Boston went 7-2 on the homestand, starting with a three-game sweep of Miami, after opening 14-19 at Fenway Park. "We got off on the right foot against the Marlins and just kept going, scoring runs, pitching well, playing good defence," Ross said. Adrian Gonzalez had three RBIs and finished the homestand at 12 for 36 to raise his batting average to .296. Mike Aviles drove in two runs as the Red Sox improved to 9-2 in their last 11 games. Jon Lester (5-5) fell behind 1-0 in the first when he allowed a run-scoring single to Colby Rasmus, but the Red Sox scored all the runs they needed in the bottom half as Romero (8-2) threw 16 balls on his first 19 pitches. "Im just embarrassed in myself more than anything. I feel like I let the team down," Romero said. "Right now when Im missing, Im missing bad. Im not even coming close. " Boston went ahead 7-1 in the second when Ortiz and Ross walked on 3-1 pitches and Gonzalez hit an RBI single. Jose Bautista hit a solo shot, his major-league leading 25th homer of the season, off Lester in the fourth. "Were up 7-0," Lester said. "At 3-and-2 Im going to challenge him and take my chances. ... Im not going to walk him. Im not going to give him a chance to get on base and bring up (Edwin) Encarnacion and give up a two-run homer. Id rather give up a solo shot." The Red Sox struck back with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Gonzalez singled in one and Aviles doubled in the other. Ortiz made it 10-2 in the fifth with his 21st homer of the year. His 399 career homers are tied for 49th with Andres Galarraga and Al Kaline. Duke Snider is 48th with 407. Lester, who was just 1-2 in his previous six starts, retired eight consecutive batters before running into trouble with two outs in the sixth. He allowed a double to Bautista followed by Encarnacions 22nd homer. Lester pitched seven innings, striking out four with no walks, seven hits and four runs. Romero was in trouble from the start. He had averaged 4.4 walks per nine innings this season but walked a total of just nine batters in his previous four starts. "He never really had a chance to establish any kind of rhythm or any one given pitch to a certain spot in the strike zone where he could go get a strike against a team that can obviously swing the bats really well," Toronto manager John Farrell said. On Wednesday, Romero left after giving up six walks, seven hits and nine runs in three-plus innings. He walked leadoff batter Daniel Nava on four pitches in the first then threw two balls to Dustin Pedroia before his first strike. Pedroia doubled in Nava and the next batter, Ortiz, walked on four pitches before Romero started Ross with two more balls. Ross then singled, loading the bases, and Gonzalez reached on an error by third baseman Encarnacion, allowing Pedroia and Ortiz to score. Will Middlebrooks followed with an RBI groundout, Aviles singled in one run and Darnell McDonald singled in another, making it 6-1. Notes: Gonzalez has an eight-game hitting streak. ... Toronto, in last place in the AL East, dropped two games behind Boston ... Romero was 4-0 in his last seven starts but had given up at least four runs in each of his last six games. Wednesdays start was his shortest of the season and the runs allowed were his most.... Bautista leads the majors with 16 road homers. ... RHP Henderson Alvarez, who left Monday nights 9-6 Toronto win with right elbow soreness, is expected to start on Saturday after undergoing an MRI that shows some inflammation, Farrell said. T.Y. Hilton Jersey . The Phoenix Coyotes are still hanging around. Shane Doan scored two goals, Mike Smith made 36 saves in his third playoff shutout, and the Coyotes emphatically avoided playoff elimination with a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday. Anthony Castonzo Jersey . Hes been getting back at them ever since. The Gold Glove second baseman helped the Cincinnati Reds get through their illness with another strong game against his former team, hitting a two-run homer and driving in three runs in a 5-3 victory over the Indians on Wednesday night. http://www.shoptheindianapoliscolts.com/coby-fleener-jersey . The central midfielder was meant to be a backup to Yann MVila at Euro 2012. But an ankle injury for Laurent Blancs first choice means Diarra will be in the starting lineup at the Group D match in Donetsk. Andrew Luck Womens Jersey . AC Milan announced the move before its exhibition game against Real Madrid at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, saying the deal gives it the right to buy the defender outright. Pat Angerer Youth Jersey .S. Open. Levin was at No. 61 in the world and missed the cut in the St. Jude Classic. Because he had points fall off his world ranking ledger, however, he moved to No.EDMONTON -- If it all works out, Brody McKnight will step onto a CFL field for the first time Saturday in Hamilton to give a leg up to an Edmonton Eskimo team that has lost its last two games on missed last-second field goals. "I prefer kicking, but if the coach needs me to punt I can do that as well," said McKnight after practice Thursday at Commonwealth Stadium. "If they call on me, Ill be ready." The 22-year-old Vancouver native was traded to Edmonton from Montreal Wednesday for kicker Derek Schiavone and two draft picks. Edmonton head coach Kavis Reed said Grant Shaw will kick against Hamilton, but said McKnight may dress depending on how he performs in practice. "From the stuff that we charted he was OK (in the first practice)," said Reed. "We dont expect him to be perfect right now because he just got off of a really, really, really late flight last night." Reed also said theres a worry given that the 5-5 Eskimos are in a dogfight for a playoff spot and the new kid is, well, just a kid. "Any time you put someone on who doesnt have experience, who really hasnt done anything in terms of kicking in this league -- (given) the angles, the width of the field, (and) the 12th man -- there are concerns," said Reed. The Eskimos have a lot of concerns heading into the matchup against the 3-7 Tiger-Cats. The offence is sputtering and the kicking game is erratic. The Eskimos are second last in points scored per game (23.8) and last in average yards passing per game (253.7). Shaw has been handling field goals, punts and kickoffs since punter Burke Dales went on the nine-game injury list after hurting his plant foot against the Calgary Stampeders on Labour Day. The concern is the workload is too much for Shaw. He shanked a couple of punts against the Stampeders in the Labour Day rematch loss last Friday and missed a 42-yard field goal attempt that would have won the game. Edmonton lost 20-18. Four days earlier, he missed a last-second 48-yard kick in a 31-30 loss to Calgary. Asked about McKnights arrival, Shaw said its whats best for the team. "Its just unfortunate that Burke got hurt. It has just brought about having to make some changes," he said. "For all of us its all about adapting and doing the best job we can." MccKnight kicked for the University of Montana and was the top pick of the Alouettes in 2011. Andrew Luck White Jersey. This year he was behind Sean Whyte after coming back from failed tryouts with the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals of the NFL. "I feel more at home here than I did in Montreal, to be honest with you. Its closer to home," said McKnight. He said he has Oct. 19 circled on his calendar, the day the Eskimos play the Lions in B.C. "My family is all there. Ive got a lot of blood in Vancouver." He said he grew up watching and emulating kickers like Adam Vinatieri of the Indianapolis Colts. Vinatieri became famous in 2002 with two clutch kicks in blizzard conditions to lead the New England Patriots to a controversial playoff win over the Oakland Raiders in what is now referred to as the infamous "Tuck Rule Game." "Im big on the clutch kicks. Ive always had a lot of respect for kickers who make those kicks. He (Vinatieri) is a guy I really look up to and aspire to," said McKnight. The key to clutch kicking, he said, is zoning out all the surrounding noise. "Its hard to explain, but youve got 80,000 fans (surrounding you). Youre only human, but you gotta do the best you can. You almost have to be robotic with your approach." Saturdays game will be the first meeting between the Esks and the Ticats in 2012. Kerry Joseph will start for the hobbled Steven Jyles at quarterback. Its the third consecutive start for Joseph. The 10-year veteran said the more reps he gets, the better hes playing. "It comes back to you. You can see it a lot in practice and when you start to get into game situations you can slow that mental picture down and it helps a lot," he said. "I try to play the game in my mind, seeing the field, what to expect on certain plays. That way when it happens (in the game), Im not caught off guard." Joseph has seen action in eight games in 2012. He is 73 of 110 for 996 yards passing with five touchdowns and six interceptions. Notes: The Eskimos have acquired fullback Darcy Brown from the Ticats for defensive back Ricardo Colclough and a draft pick. The Eskimos need help at fullback with Mathieu Bertrand hurt. "Its a position of need and it doesnt hurt that he (Brown) is Canadian," said Reed. ' ' '
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