BOSTON (Interstat) — Simeon Woods Richardson worked three scoreless innings of relief and Louis Varland recorded his 14th save as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-0 on Wednesday at Fenway Park.

The Blue Jays improved to 36-38 with their second consecutive victory over Boston, following a 6-1 win Tuesday. The Red Sox dropped to 29-42, losing for the 10th time in 13 games.

Toronto scored all the runs it needed in the third inning and added an insurance run in the eighth. The Blue Jays managed eight hits, while Boston had seven but could not push a run across despite six walks.

The game began with both starting pitchers showing command. Toronto’s opener, Braydon Fisher, retired the side in order in the first, striking out George Springer to start the game and getting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground out before Kazuma Okamoto flied out. Boston’s Jake Bennett also worked a clean first, allowing a leadoff walk to Mickey Gasper but erasing the threat with a force out.

The game remained scoreless until the top of the third. Davis Schneider led off with a double to center field, his fifth of the season. Myles Straw struck out, but Andrés Giménez lined a single to right field, scoring Schneider for a 1-0 lead. George Springer was hit by a pitch, and Guerrero grounded out to third base, scoring Giménez to make it 2-0. Okamoto grounded out to end the inning.

Boston had a chance to respond in the bottom of the third. Wilyer Abreu doubled to left with two outs, but Willson Contreras grounded out to shortstop to strand him.

The Red Sox threatened again in the fourth. Jarren Duran walked, and Masataka Yoshida singled. Duran was ruled out when he was hit by a batted ball, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa walked to put runners on first and second. But Andruw Monasterio struck out and Marcelo Mayer popped out to end the inning.

Bennett settled down after the third, retiring seven of the next eight batters he faced. He finished with a statline of 5 1/3 innings, three hits, two earned runs and five strikeouts, taking the loss to fall to 1-3.

Toronto’s bullpen took over after Fisher worked 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief. Tyler Rogers and Jeff Hoffman each threw a scoreless inning before Woods Richardson entered in the fifth. The right-hander inherited a bases-loaded situation with two outs after Hoffman walked Duran and allowed singles to Ceddanne Rafaela and Abreu. Contreras struck out swinging to end the threat, and Woods Richardson escaped.

Woods Richardson retired the next six batters he faced, allowing three hits and striking out one over three innings. He earned his first win of the season against seven losses.

The Blue Jays added an important run in the eighth. Giménez led off with a single to right field. Springer flied out to right, moving Giménez to third. Guerrero then singled to center field, the ball deflected by second baseman Monasterio, allowing Giménez to score and make it 3-0. Okamoto struck out and Alejandro Kirk grounded into a force out to end the inning.

Boston mounted a mild threat in the bottom of the eighth against Spencer Miles. Monasterio singled with one out, but Mayer grounded out to third base, moving the runner to second. Gasper grounded out to third to end the inning.

Varland came on for the ninth and sealed the win with a dominant inning. He struck out Rafaela, Abreu and Contreras swinging in order, fanning all three batters he faced. The save was his 14th of the season.

Several Toronto relievers contributed to the shutout. Miles worked 1 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out one. Fisher pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings. Jeff Hoffman threw a scoreless inning, allowing one hit. Tyler Rogers also worked a scoreless inning, giving up one hit. Mason Fluharty recorded one strikeout in a third of an inning.

Boston’s bullpen also pitched well. Tyron Guerrero threw 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out three. Danny Coulombe worked a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and striking out one.

The most important sequence of the game occurred in the top of the third inning when Toronto broke the scoreless tie with two runs. Schneider’s leadoff double set the table, and Giménez’s two-out single provided the first run. Guerrero’s groundout scored the second run, giving the Blue Jays a lead they never relinquished.

Boston had several opportunities to score but could not deliver a hit with runners in scoring position. The Red Sox left seven runners on base and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

The game was played before an announced crowd of 35,817. The duration was 2 hours, 51 minutes.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Toronto Blue Jays 5, Boston Red Sox 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Boston with a 50.70 percent probability to win. Toronto had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of three went over the over-under line of 9.5.

The Blue Jays and Red Sox conclude their three-game series Thursday at Fenway Park, with Toronto heading to Chicago to face the Cubs on Friday and Boston traveling to Seattle for a three-game set against the Mariners.