TORONTO - J.P. Arencibia hit a three-run homer and Ricky Romero pitched six effective innings as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 7-4 on Thursday.

Romero (14-10) held Boston to five hits, three walks and three runs over 6 2-3 innings while striking out seven.

Edwin Encarnacion and Eric Thames also hit solo home runs as the Blue Jays took three of four against a team that appears to be heading to a post-season spot, but is not playing up to expectations.

September call-up David Cooper had three hits, including two doubles, and two runs batted in.

Catcher Jason Varitek hit his 11th homer against Frank Francisco, who entered in the ninth to protect a four-run lead.

An error by second baseman Kelly Johnson and Marco Scutaro's single gave the Red Sox hope with two out in the ninth. But Dustin Pedroia struck out.

Andrew Miller (6-3) allowed five runs and eight hits over five innings. Michael Bowden allowed Thames' homer in the seventh.

Romero entered the game with a 2-6 record and an 8.08 earned-runs average in his previous 11 career starts against Boston.

He breezed through his first six innings but had some trouble in the seventh as Boston scored three runs.

Varitek walked with one out, Darnell McDonald had a two-out infield hit and Jacoby Ellsbury drove in a run with a double. Casey Janssen replaced Romero and gave up Scutaro's two-run single, his 10th hit of the series.

Thames got one run back with his 10th homer in the seventh. Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., and Cooper hit consecutive one-out doubles in the eighth against Felix Doubront to bump the lead to four.

Arencibia's 22nd homer was the fourth hit in a row to start the second for the Blue Jays (72-72). Johnson led off with an infield hit and Lawrie drove a single through the right side on a hit-and-run.

Cooper looped a sweeping breaking ball to score the first run. Arencibia followed by clubbing a 3-2 changeup deep to left for a 4-0 Toronto lead.

Encarnacion, who drove in five runs in Wednesday's 11-10 victory over the Red Sox (85-58), hit his 16th homer of the season, a drive to right, on a 3-1 fastball in the third.

Both teams couldn't do anything with their respective leadoff doubles in the first. After Ellsbury led off the game with a double, the hot-hitting Scutaro surprisingly sacrificed the runner to third. Romero struck out Pedroia and retired David Ortiz on a grounder to end the inning.

Yunel Escobar started the bottom of the first with a double, but Scutaro was involved in all three outs at shortstop, two of them strong plays. He grabbed an over-the-shoulder catch on a bloop by Thames and a smart grab and throw on a hard grounder by Encarnacion.

Notes: Attendance at Rogers Centre was 17,189. ... Dustin McGowan will start Sunday for the Blue Jays against Baltimore instead of Luis Perez who returns to the bullpen. McGowan came back from two shoulder surgeries and made his first major-league outing since July 8, 2008 when he pitched four innings of relief on Tuesday. ... First baseman Adam Lind rested a sore right wrist for the second game in a row on Thursday. ... Centre fielder Colby Rasmus took live batting on Thursday afternoon for the first time since injuring his right wrist on Aug. 23. ... Brett Cecil (4-8, 4.60 ERA) opens a three-game series against Baltimore on Friday when he faces Jeremy Guthrie (6-17, 4.45 ERA).