BOSTON (AP) – Russ Adams snapped an 0-for-14 slump with a tiebreaking double in the ninth off previously perfect Jonathan Papelbon to lead the Toronto Blue Jays over the Boston Red Sox 7-6 Wednesday night.

Toronto led 4-3, trailed 5-4 and took a 6-5 lead in the seventh before Boston tied it 6-all in the eighth. But with Papelbon pitching in the ninth, Lyle Overbay led off with his fourth hit of the night. Gregg Zaun singled one out later, and Adams doubled down the right-field line. Dustin McGowan (1-0) allowed two hits in one inning. Papelbon (0-1) gave up his first run after 21 1-3 innings dating to Sept. 19, and his ERA went from a perfect 0.00 to 0.55.

B.J. Ryan pitched the ninth for his sixth save, striking out three and getting Jason Varitek looking with the tying run on third base. Shea Hillenbrand homered and Overbay went 4-for-4 with a walk for the Blue Jays, who improved to 5-2 against Boston this season as they try to interrupt the dominance in the AL East by the Red Sox and Yankees. Boston has lost eight of its last 12.

The start of the game was delayed 10 minutes because of rain, and though it was 46 degrees and raw, the game wasn’t interrupted. But it wasn’t the best weather for starters Josh Beckett or Roy Halladay, and the expected marquee matchup dissolved in the drizzle.

Beckett gave up four runs, five hits and three walks, throwing 101 pitches in just five innings and leaving without a decision. He’s allowed 16 runs in his last nine innings.

Halladay allowed five runs, nine hits and two walks, striking out two in six innings. He gave up three runs on five consecutive singles in the second, then two more in the sixth when Mike Lowell singled in a run and scored on Wily Mo Pena’s double to make it 5-4.

But the Blue Jays took the lead back in the seventh when Overbay doubled off Keith Foulke with two outs and Hillenbrand hit his fourth homer. Hillenbrand is 9-for-22 on the trip.

David Ortiz, who homered in five of his first six games against Toronto this year, went 0-for-5 and only hit the ball out of the infield once.

In the bottom of the first, second baseman Aaron Hill got hit in the chin by a bad-hop grounder. He went to the dugout to tend to his bleeding chin, but returned a few minutes later. He had a two-run double in the second, when the Blue Jays took a 3-0 lead.

Notes: With his first-inning single, Vernon Wells has hit in 24 of the Blue Jays’ 26 games. … LHP David Wells (right knee sprain) and RHP David Riske (lower back strain) are close to being able to pitch again, manager Terry Francona said. … Papelbon was selected AL rookie of the month for April, when he had 10 saves in 10 tries.

AP-ES-05-03-06 2304EDT

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