BOSTON — As his winless streak stretched toward a third month and his ERA continued to climb, Mark Buehrle began to have doubts.
At 36, was he at the end of what had been a steady major league career? Would he eventually snap out of the slump and contribute to Toronto’s surge in the AL East? Would he ever even win another game?
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WHO: Yankees (Capuano 0-0) at Red Sox (Lackey 11-7)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
TELEVISION: NESN
“I guess the older you get, you get a little bit concerned,” he said after earning his first victory in 10 starts since June 1, beating the Boston Red Sox 6-1 on Wednesday night. “I didn’t pitch good, and I didn’t want anyone giving up on me. … There’s a thought in the back of your mind: ‘Am I done? Maybe it’s just myself thinking and driving myself crazy. But it definitely feels good (to win).”
Buehrle (11-7) allowed one run on six hits and a walk, striking out two in 6 2-3 innings to snap a six-game losing streak that matched the longest of his career. Dioner Navarro had three hits and three RBIs to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to their fifth consecutive victory and complete a sweep of the slumping Red Sox.
Toronto has won eight of its last nine and trails first-place Baltimore by 2 1-2 games. And they finally got a contribution from Buehrle, who had won nine in a row to improve to 10-1 before falling into his skid just four wins short of 200 in his career.
“That 11th win was tough to get,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He needed that. I don’t care how good he’s been; how long he’s been in the game.”
Brandon Workman (1-4) fell behind quickly after being called up from Triple-A to replace trade bait Jon Lester. The All-Star left-hander was originally scheduled to start for Boston, but he was scratched while his name is bandied about ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.
As the Red Sox went down in the ninth, fans remaining from the sellout crowd chanted, “Jonny Lester!” Red Sox manager John Farrell said Lester — and the rest of the team — heard it in the dugout
“We were well aware of it, and wouldn’t expect anything less from this fan base that’s fully behind us when we’re doing good or bad,” Farrell said, adding that he had no update on the trade talks.
Workman said the team called him at about 10 p.m. on Tuesday to let him know he would be starting.
“I had heard it might happen with all the rumors and stuff,” he said, adding that it was a bit of a strange night, “but I kept my mind on throwing.”
The game marked a milestone in Boston’s woeful World Series title defense, coming a day before the trade deadline and in the middle of a streak in which the Red Sox have lost eight of nine games, fallen into last place and dropped 13 games behind the East-leading Orioles.
After shipping Jake Peavy to San Francisco on Saturday, the Red Sox sent demoted starter Felix Doubront to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. Lester, who is due to be a free agent, could follow him; so could John Lackey, who is scheduled to make the minimum next season.
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