TORONTO - The bottom of the order put the Toronto Blue Jays on top Wednesday night as John McDonald and Rajai Davis played big roles in a 9-3 rout of the Boston Red Sox.

McDonald homered and knocked in three runs while Davis -- batting behind McDonald in the ninth spot -- had four hits to help Toronto (17-20) sweep the two-game mini-series at Rogers Centre. For the second straight night, Davis reached on a single, stole second and then swiped third before coming home to score.

His speed works nicely with manager John Farrell's philosophy of using an aggressive approach to generate offence instead of relying on the long ball.

"The one inning where he gets the base hit, he basically took over the inning himself," Farrell said. "He really can create some havoc on the basepaths."

McDonald lashed a two-run double to left field that broke the game open in the seventh inning. Davis then added a two-run single to put the game out of reach.

"We had a big hit by Johnny with the bases loaded there," Davis said. "We were able to pull away and take their last breath away."

All nine runs were charged to Boston starter John Lackey (2-5), who lasted 6 2/3 innings.

"Everything that could go wrong did go wrong," he said.

Jays starter Jesse Litsch (4-2) went 5 2/3 innings for the win. He allowed six hits, three earned runs, struck out four and walked one. McDonald displayed his usual stellar defence and also saw his batting average jump 15 points to .210.

"You can't give up hits to him when they have other guys in the lineup that can hurt you," Lackey said.

Centre-fielder Jacoby Ellsbury had his 19-game hitting streak come to an end as Boston fell to 17-20. The Red Sox fell into a tie with Toronto for third place in the American League East.

"We want to be a lot better than what we've shown -- that's obvious," said Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "Everyone cares. We'll figure it out. All we have to do is play, it ain't going to end like this I can tell you that."

Boston slugger Adrian Gonzalez opened the scoring in the first inning. He hit a double off the wall in centre field and scored on a Kevin Youkilis single.

Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar reached on a single in the bottom half of the frame and advanced to second when Lackey threw the ball away after catching a Corey Patterson bunt attempt. Escobar appeared to jam his leg on the turf but stayed in the game. He was stranded after a pair of flyouts.

Toronto got on the board in the third inning with a pair of runs. Davis stroked a single and moved to second on an Escobar walk. With the runners going on a full count, Patterson hit an RBI single to right field. The Jays loaded the bases and Aaron Hill cashed in another run with a grounder to short before J.P. Arencibia flew out to end the threat.

McDonald made it a 3-1 game in the fourth with his second homer of the season. Davis followed with a single and two stolen bases before scoring on a sacrifice fly from Escobar.

The Red Sox cut the deficit to one run in the sixth inning after solo homers from Gonzalez and David Ortiz.

In the seventh, David Cooper started the five-run outburst by walking with the bases loaded. Lackey was pulled after giving up the double to McDonald and Davis capped the rally with his single off knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

Lackey allowed nine hits, walked five and had one strikeout. Toronto outhit Boston 12-7. An announced crowd of 19,163 took in the game, which took two hours 49 minutes to play.

Notes: The Blue Jays have a day off Thursday before kicking off a weekend series in Minnesota. The Red Sox also get a day off before continuing their five-game road trip with a visit to New York. ... Boston returns to Toronto for a three-game series beginning June 10. ... Jays first baseman Adam Lind hit some balls off a tee during batting practice. He's still day to day with tightness in his lower back. Cooper got the start at first base. He hit his first career big-league homer and drove in the winning run in a 7-6 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday night. ... The Blue Jays released veteran outfielder Scott Podsednik before the game. He battled injuries after signing a minor-league deal in the off-season. ... At 44 years 282 days, Wakefield is the oldest active pitcher in the major leagues. With his brief appearance against the Jays, he became the oldest player to ever appear in a game for Boston, passing Deacon McGuire on the franchise list. McGuire was 44 years 280 days old in his last game with the Red Sox on Aug. 24, 1908. ... Toronto Maple Leafs forward Colby Armstrong threw out the ceremonial first pitch.