Baseball

BOSTON -- Ernie Whitt capped a four-run third inning with a two-run homer and George Bell homered in the seventh as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Boston Red Sox, 8-4, last night.

Doyle Alexander (17-5) gave up four runs on four hits, including Mike Easler's two-run homer in the second inning. Alexander struck out seven and walked one. Boston starter Dennis Boyd (12-11) took the loss.

The Red Sox took a 4-1 lead in the second, but the Blue Jays scored four times in the third, including Whitt's 15th homer.

The Blue Jays added a run in the sixth on Boyd's bases loaded balk, and Bell's seventh inning homer, his 26th, made it.