BOSTON — Paul Byrd, making his first major league start since last September, pitched six shutout innings and the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep with a 7-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
The win was the sixth in seven games for Boston, which opened the day 2 1/2 games ahead of Texas in the AL's wild-card race.
Byrd (1-0), out of baseball after finishing last year with the Red Sox, signed a minor league contract on Aug. 5. He gave up three hits and walked three.
Scoring single runs in each of the first four innings, the Red Sox sent Roy Halladay (13-8) to his third consecutive loss for the first time since last April.
The Blue Jays fell to 0-6 in Fenway Park this year and were swept in a three-game series by the Red Sox for the second time this month, losing at the Rogers Centre Aug. 18-21.
The Blue Jays lost for the 11th time in 14 games.
Billy Wagner, acquired by Boston from the Mets for two players to be named Tuesday, pitched one scoreless inning with three strikeouts and one hit in his debut. Takashi Saito, the fourth pitcher, completed the five-hit shutout.
Halladay, shopped at the July 31st trading deadline before he remained with Toronto, is 3-5 since the all-star break.
Kevin Youkilis' two-out RBI double made it 1-0 in the first after Victor Martinez doubled.
Rocco Baldelli homered into the Green Monster seats leading off the second, extending the team's club-record to 50 homers for the month.
The Red Sox increased it to 3-0 in the third when Dustin Pedroia doubled, advanced on Martinez's groundout and scored on Youkilis' sacrifice fly. Alex Gonzalez had a two-out RBI single in the fourth.
Byrd, known for his throwback windup, escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the fourth when Jose Bautista flied to the right-field warning track.
The 38-year old Byrd pumped his fist into his glove when he walked off after striking out Adam Lind to end the fifth with a runner on second.
Toronto reliever Shawn Camp's throwing error allowed two runs in the seventh. Youkilis added a third with an RBI single, making it 7-0.
NOTES: Byrd made four minor-league starts before Sunday. ...Toronto SS Marco Scutaro was back in the lineup after leaving Friday's game following a beaning by Josh Beckett. ... Red Sox manager Terry Francona said LF Jason Bay needed "a day off" before the game. ... Byrd, who went 2-2 against Toronto last year, last started against Cleveland on Sept. 24. ... RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, on the 15-day DL since June 21, was scheduled to make a rehab start for Double-A Portland on Sunday. ... Toronto, which lost its eighth straight in Fenway, returns for three games in the regular season's final week.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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