"Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia likes performing cleanup duty in periodic doses.

Pedroia was dropped two places in the Red Sox batting order last night, hitting fourth for the second time this season. He's been handed the cleanup role six times in his career and he's delivered a deep ball on the last four occasions.

Pedroia got around on a 1-2 pitch from Toronto left-hander Brett Cecil and launched it over the left field wall for his eighth home run of the season. The solo blast in the third inning proved to be the game-winner for the Red Sox in a 3-2 victory over the Blue Jays in the middle match of a three-game series at Fenway Park.

"He just did what a 4-hole hitter is supposed to do — he hit a home run," said first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who batted third and went 1-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch. "He swings the bat hard."

Pedroia has displayed his home run stroke while batting cleanup, but the production numbers don't stop there.

In his last four starts in the 4-hole, Pedroia has hit .444 (8-for-18) with six runs and eight RBI. In his six cleanup starts overall, he has a .500 average (13-for-26)."