With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Boston Red Sox had not placed a single hit on the box score, trailing 5-0 while being blanked by Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marco Estrada.
However, four outs later, Boston had situated the tying baserunner on second base and the winning baserunner on first base with pinch-hitter Marco Hernandez awaiting a 3-0 offering from closer Roberto Osuna, the rookie threatening to complete a thrilling comeback in front of a damp crowd at Fenway Park.
Despite his lack of momentum, Osuna, who allowed two runs on four hits in the ninth inning, was able to secure Toronto's 5-4 victory by forcing Hernandez into a swing-and-miss on a full count, preserving the series victory for the Blue Jays and handing Estrada (4-2) his well-earned third consecutive triumph.
Following the win, the surging Jays, winners of seven of their last nine games, now sit just 2.5 games behind the Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East.
Marco Estrada shuts down Red Sox
The owner of a 2.41 ERA, Estrada was brilliant through eight innings, letting up just one run on two hits and three walks while striking out five batters.
He did not allow a single Red Sox hit until garnering the first out in the eighth inning, as Boston left fielder Chris Young ended the team's game-long slump with a towering solo home run over the Green Monster.
Toronto rides home runs to win
Although the Blue Jays offense recorded just four hits to Boston's six, they certainly made them count, with each hit sailing out of the park for a home run.
Toronto tagged Red Sox starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (L, 1-1), making his second start of 2016, for five runs on four hits in 5.2 innings, hammering the 23-year-old for all four home runs while walking four times and resisting the urge to strike out even once.
Right fielder Jose Bautista kicked off the scoring immediately out of the gate, ripping a leadoff home run 346 feet over the left field wall for his 12th long ball of the season to give Toronto an early 1-0 lead.
The Blue Jays continued their scoring barrage in the third inning, with shortstop Darwin Barney hammering his third home run of the year, a 357-foot shot to left with one out, and designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion following a two-out walk by third baseman Josh Donaldson with his 12th blast of 2016, a two-run, 407-foot bomb over the Green Monster.
Catcher Russell Martin placed the icing on the cake with one out in the sixth inning, increasing the Toronto advantage to 5-0 with a 379-foot home run over the left field wall.
Estrada continued his dominance from there, retiring the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings before working around Young's homer to set down Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez and right fielder Mookie Betts to end the eighth inning with a four-run lead intact.
Boston nearly completes comeback
However, when second baseman Dustin Pedroia led off the final stanza with a double down the left field line, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons reached for his closer, opening up the floodgates for the burgeoning Red Sox offense.
After a pop out by shortstop Xander Bogaerts, designated hitter David Ortiz doubled to right field, bringing home Pedroia for his league-leading 54th RBI of the season.
Following a strikeout by third baseman Travis Shaw, scuffling first baseman Hanley Ramirez emerged from his recent slump by hammering an RBI double deep into center, slicing the Red Sox deficit to just 5-3.
Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. proceeded to bring home Ramirez with an RBI single on the ensuing at-bat, and following a single by Young, Boston had both the tying and winning runs on base with the Hernandez stepping to the plate to pinch hit for the .217-hitting Vazquez.
Hernandez watched three balls sail into Martin's mitt as he worked a 3-0 count, letting an Osuna fastball fly in for strike one as he kept the bat on his shoulders on the subsequent pitch.
Then, the rookie batsman offered at an Osuna offering with appeared to be slightly above the strike zone, fouling it off to force a loaded 3-2 count. After fighting off another pitch, Hernandez was unable to stave off the fire-wielding Osuna any longer, swinging and missing at a fastball for strike three.