TORONTO (Interstat) — Daulton Varsho’s fifth career grand slam highlighted a six-run sixth inning, powering the Toronto Blue Jays past the Boston Red Sox 6-1 on Thursday night at Rogers Centre.

The victory, witnessed by a crowd of 42,129, allowed the Blue Jays (91-68) to maintain a tie with the New York Yankees for the American League East lead. It also snapped a difficult stretch in which Toronto had lost six of its previous seven games. The loss prevented the Red Sox (87-72) from clinching a postseason berth, leaving them one game ahead of the Detroit Tigers for the second AL wild card with three games remaining in the regular season.

For five innings, the game was a tense pitchers’ duel. Boston’s Brayan Bello (11-9) held the Blue Jays to just three hits, working around traffic on the bases to keep the game scoreless. Toronto’s Yariel Rodríguez (3-2) was credited with the win after recording the final two outs of the top of the sixth inning, though the game’s outcome was ultimately decided in the bottom half of the frame.

The Blue Jays’ rally started with a throwing error by Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story, allowing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to reach base. Bello then walked Addison Barger and hit Anthony Santander with a pitch to load the bases. That brought Varsho to the plate, and he launched a 2-1 pitch from reliever Chris Murphy deep to right-center field for his 20th home run of the season, clearing the bases and giving Toronto a 4-0 lead.

Toronto was not done. Andrés Giménez followed with a double, and two batters later, George Springer connected for a two-run homer, his 31st of the year, to extend the lead to 6-0.

The Red Sox, who were held to just four hits, broke up the shutout in the seventh inning. Jarren Duran led off with a double and scored on a single by Trevor Story. Boston’s offense was stifled throughout, however, grounding into two double plays.

Toronto’s bullpen was dominant following the offensive outburst. After Rodríguez, four relievers — Brendon Little, Seranthony Domínguez, Jeff Hoffman and Eric Lauer — combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings. Lauer was particularly effective, pitching 3 1/3 perfect frames with two strikeouts to close out the game.

The Blue Jays, who finished with seven hits, will conclude their regular season with a three-game series at home against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox, who had won the first two games of this series, return to Fenway Park to host the Detroit Tigers for a three-game set that will determine their playoff fate.