TORONTO -- Left-hander J.A. Happ tossed six scoreless innings while Jose Reyes and Dioner Navarro homered in the Blue Jays' 7-3 victory over the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre.
Happ continues to be a rather pleasant surprise for Toronto after he began the season without a job in the rotation. He has battled some inconsistency, but for the most part has given the Blue Jays everything they could expect from a No. 5 starter.
 
Navarro, Reyes homer as Blue Jays beat Red Sox 7-3
 
The 31-year-old limped into the All-Star break by surrendering nine runs over his final two starts, but he was back in fine form against Boston. He scattered seven hits and issued one walk while striking out four en route to his sixth quality start.
Happ was effective, but it wasn't exactly smooth sailing throughout the night. He stranded a pair of baserunners in the fourth and then encountered more difficulty in the sixth when he allowed the first two batters of the inning to reach. Happ got out of that jam by inducing a double-play grounder by Shane Victorino, then striking out Stephen Drew.
This outing marked the ninth time in 14 starts that Happ walked two batters or fewer. A big reason behind his overall success has been keeping the ball in the park as Happ's allowed just two homers over his past 45 2/3 innings, dating back to June 5. Before then, Happ surrendered six home runs in six starts.
The final score won't show it, but Happ was locked into a pitchers' duel throughout his outing. When he left midway through the sixth inning, the Blue Jays were clinging to a 1-0 lead with Boston right-hander Jake Peavy still looking strong.
That changed in the sixth when Reyes led off with his eighth home run, a drive to right field. Three batters later, Navarro added his seventh with a two-run shot over the wall in right. Toronto added a run in the seventh as Anthony Gose led off with a bunt single and came around to score on an RBI single by Melky Cabrera. All five runs were charged to Peavy over 6 1/3 innings.
Toronto has won three of its first five games since the All-Star break. The Blue Jays have a chance for a series victory over the Red Sox, but will need to take the final two games before heading out on a lengthy road trip through New York, Boston and Houston.
Gregor Chisholm / MLB.com
 

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