BOSTON (AP) – Corey Koskie singled home the go-ahead run in the ninth with his fourth hit, and Roy Halladay pitched eight strong innings to lead the Toronto Blue Jays over the Boston Red Sox 4-3 on Tuesday night.

The Red Sox put runners at first and third with two outs in the ninth before Ramon Vazquez, playing third base because Bill Mueller had flu symptoms, flied to center against Miguel Batista.

Until Koskie’s decisive hit, all the runs scored on homers. Manny Ramirez hit a solo shot in the first and Koskie tied it with his second homer of the season in the sixth. David Ortiz’s two-run drive made it 3-1 in the seventh and Vernon Wells tied it with a two-run shot in the eighth.

Keith Foulke (1-2) retired the first batter in the ninth before Frank Catalanotto was hit by a pitch and Gregg Zaun walked. Shea Hillenbrand singled, but pinch-runner Reed Johnson was thrown out at the plate by left fielder Jay Payton.

Koskie then singled to right to drive in Zaun for a 4-3 lead.

Toronto broke a nine-game losing streak at Fenway Park and snapped Boston’s five-game winning streak.

Halladay (3-0) allowed three runs and four hits while throwing 99 pitches. Batista worked the ninth for his fourth save.

Boston starter Bronson Arroyo also pitched well, giving up one run and eight hits in seven innings. He was relieved by Alan Embree, who allowed Koskie’s leadoff single in the eighth and Wells’ third homer of the year.

Ortiz’s homer – his fourth of the season and Boston’s third hit of the game – was one of just seven balls the Red Sox hit out of the infield against Halladay.

One of them was Ramirez’s fifth homer, all in the last four games, with two outs in the first. It traveled high and far over the Green Monster in left field.

Boston threatened in the eighth when Johnny Damon singled, went to second on a balk and third on a wild pitch. Trot Nixon was walked intentionally, but Payton flied to left to end the inning.

Halladay faced just 19 batters through six innings, one more than the minimum, and allowed only four of them to hit the ball out of the infield.

The Blue Jays got a pair of two-out singles in the first and again in the second but didn’t score. They went out in order in the third, then put runners at first and third in the fourth on a walk to Eric Hinske and a single by Orlando Hudson but failed to score.

Notes: The Red Sox are the only team not to allow a first-inning run this season. The streak reached 14 games Tuesday. … Hillenbrand extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single in the first that was his 11th hit in 15 at-bats. … Both of Koskie’s homers have come against the Red Sox. He hit his first as a Blue Jay on April 9 off David Wells. … Zaun, whose eight-game hitting streak ended Monday, singled against Arroyo in the seventh. … The Red Sox were unbeaten in Arroyo’s 11 previous starts.

AP-ES-04-19-05 2205EDT