Halladay returns with a flourish as Jays rout Red Sox

TORONTO (Reuters) - Roy Halladay pitched five strong innings in his return to the rotation and Bengie Molina hit a two-run homer as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 8-1 in American League play on Saturday.

The Blue Jays placed starter A.J. Burnett on the 15-day disabled list before the game with his arm problems, but got a strong outing from their ace as he came back after missing a start with stiffness in his right arm.

Halladay allowed just one run on six hits with two strikeouts and one walk in a tidy 90-pitch effort that relieved Toronto manager John Gibbons.

"He's fine. He's healthy," Gibbons said. "He wasn't as sharp as he usually is, but he had almost two weeks off."

The same cannot be said for Burnett, who left Friday's game after four innings with soreness in his left elbow.

The Blue Jays do not believe the injury is serious, but Burnett will visit Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama on Monday. Andrews performed ligament replacement surgery on Burnett's elbow in 2003.

FINE FORM

Burnett signed a five-year, $55 million contract in the off-season and the team faced the prospect of having its two top starters with arm problems before Halladay's return on Saturday.

Halladay missed his scheduled start last Saturday but appeared in fine form against the Red Sox, as the Blue Jays won for the fourth time in five tries against their AL East rivals.

"I threw 90 pitches and felt good the whole time," Halladay said. "I felt great, there were no problems out there today at all, and I feel good about the arm and should be able to go longer next time out."

Halladay (2-1) got plenty of offensive support from his team mates, who scored four runs in the first inning off Boston loser Lenny DiNardo on Molina's two-run homer and a two-run double by Troy Glaus.

Molina also caught the game and was very impressed with Halladay's performance.

"He threw great, he was keeping that sinker down and his curveball was outstanding," Molina said.

"He did it, he did a really good job."

The Red Sox never recovered from the early deficit, with the Blue Jays adding a run-scoring single by Alex Rios in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead on DiNardo.

DINARDO FRUSTRATED

DiNardo (0-1) allowed seven runs on 10 hits in just three innings in his third big league start.

"It's frustrating, but you have to pick your chin up and go after it, the first inning isn't the whole game," DiNardo said.

"I tried to put it out of my mind and pitch effectively after that but it was a tough game for me."

Toronto added another three runs in the fourth inning and pounded out 13 hits in all, including three by Vernon Wells, who also drove in a pair of runs with a triple.

Glaus, Molina, Rios and Wells all finished with two RBIs for Toronto, while Reed Johnson, Shea Hillenbrand and Aaron Hill all had two hits.

Scott Downs came on for Halladay in the sixth and tossed a scoreless inning before Pete Walker finished up with three scoreless innings for his first save.

Trot Nixon drove in the lone Boston run with a fourth inning double and had two hits, as did Josh Bard.

In New York, Shawn Chacon pitched seven strong innings as the Yankees mauled the Baltimore Orioles 6-1.

Chacon (2-1) allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui both drove in two runs for New York.

Daniel Cabrera (2-1) allowed six runs on five hits in five innings. Miguel Tejada had two hits and drove in the lone Baltimore run.

(Writing by Roger Lajoie in Toronto)