TORONTO (Ticker) -- The Boston Red Sox have all sorts of bullpen problems.
Vernon Wells' first career grand slam, off reliever Ramiro Mendoza in the fifth inning, lifted the Toronto Blue Jays to their fifth consecutive victory, a 10-5 triumph over the Red Sox.
After dropping their first three games at home, Toronto swept the Twins in Minnesota before taking the first two games in this series, which concludes Thursday.
"It feels good to win five in a row against two good teams," Toronto shortstop Chris Woodward said. "We need to beat these teams to be considered a good team. We're a confident bunch and we want to be considered tough outs."
With the Red Sox nursing a 3-2 lead in the fifth, Mendoza relieved starter Casey Fossum (1-1) with the bases loaded and two outs. Wells crushed a 2-1 pitch into the second level of seats in left-center field.
"I tried to keep the pitch outside," Mendoza said. "I caught too much of the plate and he hit it well."
Wells' grand slam was the first one hit by the Blue Jays since October 5, 2001, when Jose Cruz, Jr. accomplished the feat in a 5-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
"It came at a good time," Wells said. "I was just trying to make contact. I got a pitch up and put good wood on it."
Mendoza gave up three more runs in the sixth, including two on a double by Mike Bordick. In five appearances this season, the righthander's ERA is 12.00.
"We're trying to get these guys some innings, and hopefully everything will take care of itself," Boston catcher Jason Varitek said of the bullpen, which has a 6.23 ERA. "Of course, it concerns us that we haven't had success yet, but hopefully it will come soon."
Bordick made his first career start at third base, spelling lefthanded-hitting Eric Hinske against the southpaw Fossum.
"I was nervous before the game," Bordick said. "I checked in the dugout before every pitch. I was excited, with a lot of adrenaline, and I was able to direct it into my hitting."
Toronto starter Tanyon Sturtze (2-0) allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked one.
With Tampa Bay last season, Sturtze did not earn his second win until August 18, at which point he had 13 losses.
"This year is a great new beginning," Sturtze said. "I love being in this clubhouse with this team. This team has made baseball fun again for me after the miserable time I had last year."
Manny Ramirez gave the Red Sox a 3-0 lead in the fourth with his first homer of the season. After Todd Walker reached on an error and Nomar Garciaparra hit a ground-rule double, Ramirez bashed Tanyon Sturtze's 2-0 pitch over the center field fence.
Ramirez' homer was the 17th of his career at SkyDome. Only Jose Canseco and Alex Rodriguez have hit more as visiting players, with 18 each.
The Blue Jays got back one of the runs in the bottom of the inning when Dave Berg led off with a homer to left field. It was Berg's first home run since June 30.
"We had a lot of good at-bats tonight," Toronto manager Carlos Tosca said.
Berg added a sacrifice fly in the eighth for Toronto's last run. The run came off reliever Chad Fox, but was unearned. Fox has a 9.00 ERA.
The Red Sox have lost three of their last four games and, at 5-4, are off to their worst start since 2000.
