By Sean McAdam
CSNNE.com Red Sox InsiderFollow @sean_mcadam
TORONTO -- Tim Wakefield has to be wondering if he'll ever get to 200 career victories -- and who can blame him?
Wakefield pitched five innings last night and held a three-run lead when he departed after 95 pitches, but the Boston bullpen imploded, allowing a run in the seventh and five more in the eighth, handing the Toronto Blue Jays an 11-10 win.
Daniel Bard was the main culprit. He filled the bases on a hit batsman, single and walk with no out before recording two stirkeouts. But Bard then issued back-to-back bases loaded walks and Matt Albers' second-half struggles continued when he came in and yielded a three-run double to Edwin Encarnacion.
Adrian Gonzalez led off the top of the ninth with a solo homer and Marco Scutaro singled home David Ortiz to pull the Sox to within a run, but but pinch-runner Mike Aviles was thrown out trying to steal second for the final out and the Sox fell a run short..
It was Wakefield's seventh straight unsuccessful try at becoming the 89th pitcher in modern history to reach 200 victories. His last win came July 24. He's 0-3 with four no-decisions.
Trailing 5-3 in the fourth, the Red Sox offense exploded for four runs with a run-scoring double from Josh Reddick and a three-run homer from Jacoby Ellsbury, his 25th homer of the year.
Boston Red Sox
Ellsbury had a four hit night -- the homer, a double and two singles.
The Sox added another in the fifth on a mammoth homer from David Ortiz which landed in the second deck in right. Wakefield got staked to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, but he had squandered that by the bottom of the second as the Jays nicked him for a run in the first and two more the following inning.
Sean McAdam can be reached at smcadam@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Sean on Twitter at http:twitter.comsean_mcadam