BOSTON — John Gibbons saw this kind of game at Fenway Park many times before.
This time, his team came out on top.
“One of those classic Fenway games,” the Toronto manager said after his Blue Jays outslugged the Boston Red Sox 11-8 Tuesday night to end a four-game losing streak.
“(We) fell behind four and bounced right back,” Gibbons said. “The fact that we came back after they scored four shows you what these guys are about.”
The Red Sox jumped to a 4-0 lead against Toronto starter Drew Hutchison in the second inning, but the Blue Jays (10-11) came back with five to chase Clay Buchholz in the third, then added three in the fourth and one in the fifth.
By the time the agonizingly long game ended, the teams had played 4:01 and combined to throw 371 pitches. The Jays, who failed to hold a 5-2 lead against the Red Sox on Monday night, were able to make it stick thanks to some strong bullpen work.
Right-hander Marco Estrada (1-0) worked three hitless innings to get the win, with the save going to lefty Brett Cecil, inserted into the closer’s role in place of a 20-year-old Miguel Castro, Monday’s loser.
“We lost four in a row. We obviously needed something,” Estrada said. “Our offense came alive.”
Toronto designated hitter Jose Bautista drove in three runs, one with his fifth homer of the season. Third baseman Josh Donaldson had three hits, including a solo homer, and two RBIs. First baseman Edwin Encarnacion drove in a pair with two hits, and center fielder Kevin Pillar collected three hits and a walk.
Bautista’s homer was his 21st at Fenway Park, and he reached base for a 17th consecutive game at the old ballpark.
The Red Sox (11-10) lost for the fifth time in seven games, and they allowed 34 runs in their past three games. They have yielded six five-run innings, twice as many as any other team in the majors.
“We’ve been victimized by the big inning, and we’ve got to find a way to minimize the damage inside those situations,” Boston manager John Farrell said.
Part of the problem is Buchholz, who hasn’t won since Opening Day but was coming off six innings of one-run ball in his previous start.
Not backing up throws from the outfield, something he failed to do twice at Yankee Stadium on April 12, reared its ugly head Tuesday when Buchholz (1-3) was near the mound and caught the throw home after the last hit he allowed. Farrell quickly came out to get him.
“I would have like to have stayed in there a little bit longer, but it’s not my call,” Buchholz said. “I gotta do a better job of persuading, I guess, in a way. … I’m a lot better than that.”
He wound up allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits in 2 2/3 innings.
Asked how frustrating it is to be riding a roller coaster, he said, “Pretty frustrating. You work too hard to get to a point for a game to go that quick, that bad. You put in a lot of work with video, with getting your work in as far as bullpens, working out, it makes it suck even worse whenever it doesn’t go your way.
“I get them again (in) a couple more starts, and I’m going to do a lot better job. That’s not going to happen to me again.”
Hutchison, bidding for his third win in as many decisions, failed to make it through the necessary five innings, leaving with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth of a 9-5 game. Estrada relieved and almost got out of the inning unscathed, though he did walk in a run with two outs.
Aaron Loup relieved Estrada and struck out the first two hitters in the eighth before designated hitter David Ortiz doubled and scored ahead of left fielder Hanley Ramirez’s 200th career home run. Ramirez has nine homers this season, one shy of Ortiz’s 2006 club record for home runs before May 1.
Liam Hendriks relieved Loup and needed one pitch to end the eighth. After Donaldson hit his fifth homer, Cecil worked a one-hit ninth for his first save.
Boston third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who left Monday’s game with a sore neck, had four hits, including two doubles and his first hit in 18 right-handed at-bats this season. Monday’s hero, center fielder Mookie Betts, posted two hits and two RBIs in the loss.