BOSTON (AP) Davis Schneider homered in his first major league at-bat and the Toronto Blue Jays tied their season-high with five home runs in a 7-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

“I was smiling the whole way around the bases and into the dugout,” Schneider said. “The guys on the team, they made me feel welcome as soon as I stepped foot in the locker room. Having them cheer me on as I came back in was pretty special.”

“What a moment for him. I wish all of Canada could have been in our dugout at that point,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “You can’t draw it up much better than that. Happy for him.”

Whit Merrifield, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Daulton Varsho and Matt Chapman also went deep to help the Blue Jays (61-50) increase their lead over Boston (57-52) for the third and final wild-card spot in the American League. Toronto beat Boston for the first time in eight chances this season.

Toronto starter Alek Manoah (3-8) pitched 6 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs and struck out five.

“Being able to attack the strike zone and ahead in a lot of the counts was huge,” Manoah said. “The slider was working well. The fastball was going to both sides of the plate. It’s a great feeling when you come out and the team is winning. I just wanted to secure that lead and stay in a good rhythm and let the offense get back out there.”

Jarren Duran and Yu Chang homered for Boston. The Red Sox have dropped five of their last six.

Merrifield hit a towering fly ball off James Paxton (6-3) on the game’s first pitch that had plenty of carry for his 14th career leadoff home run. Two batters later, Guerrero blasted a no-doubt shot of his own for Toronto’s second solo home run of the inning.

The Blue Jays kept playing home run derby in the second. Just up from the minors, Schneider jumped on a slider and sent it into the Green Monster seats. It was the third home run allowed by Paxton in seven batters. The lefty grinded through five innings, allowing four runs on a season-high nine hits and struck out four.

“Location-wise, he was off. The secondary pitches weren’t great today,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said about Paxton. “He had to be creative and try to give us as much as possible, which he did. It was a 4-2 game when he came out. Even without his best stuff, he still gave us a chance to win.”

ROSTER MOVES

Blue Jays: A 27th round selection in 2017, Schneider was selected to the major league roster prior to the game. Toronto has a need for infield depth after Bo Bichette landed on the injured list. Schneider hit 21 home runs with Triple-A Buffalo. “He’s a dude who’s earned the promotion,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. … With Schneider in the fold, the Jays optioned INF Ernie Clement to Triple-A. They also designated RHP Thomas Hatch for assignment and reinstated RHP Jay Jackson from the family medical emergency list.

Red Sox: INF Luis Urias was recalled from Triple-A Worcester while INF Christian Arroyo was designated for assignment. Urias was a trade deadline acquisition from Milwaukee while Arroyo batted .241 in 66 games for Boston this season. … Philadelphia returned RHP Noah Song to Boston. Song was selected by the Phillies in last year’s Rule 5 Draft. Originally drafted by Boston in 2019, Song missed four years of development while serving in the U.S. Navy.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: INF Justin Turner missed his third straight game with a left heel contusion.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays RHP Jose Berrios (8-7, 3.31) is set to start Saturday, Boston plans to go with an opener for the seventh time since the All-Star break.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB