Buchholz dazzles Blue Jays

There was such a runner - Jose Bautista on a leadoff single - so it was time to take Buchholz out after 107 pitches. No matter how the crowd reacted. No matter how much louder they got when Okajima allowed two run-scoring hits, and had to be removed for Jonathan Papelbon without having gotten an out.

“I actually didn’t notice until [Dustin Pedroia] was screaming at me that they were booing,’’ Francona said. “It was kind of hard not to notice. . . . And for about a hitter there, I was kind of agreeing with them. But it worked out.’’

Papelbon went about his work quickly (five pitches), giving the Sox the 3-2 victory over the Blue Jays and maintaining their 2 1/2-game lead in the wild-card race.

Buchholz got the win with perhaps the best stuff he had shown in the major leagues. It came within 10 days of two anniversaries of the two most momentous occasions of his short baseball career - his Sept. 1, 2007, no-hitter, and his Aug. 20, 2008, demotion.

He is not the same player he was at either of those points, nor is he the same person. He has worked hard, as Francona said. He has matured.

Buchholz said his stuff last night was even better than it was two years ago in the no-hitter. He said he was able to “work both sides of the plate, being down for the majority of the time. I think that’s the key to pitching efficient ly and getting outs on a consistent basis.’’

“That was a terrific game,’’ Francona said. “He threw strikes with a lot of pitches, changeup, breaking ball, fastball. There was one situation - and I know it was probably four innings ago - but he got behind on the leadoff hitter after a long inning, threw a nice little two-seamer for a grounder. He really pitched well.

“He has a great changeup. I actually think when he establishes his fastball and makes hitters respect that, that it makes his changeup that much better. You start adding in two breaking balls for strikes, it gave him a lot of different looks.’’