Canada’s Pivetta, O’Neill come up big for Red Sox in series opener against Blue Jays

O Canada: The Boston Red Sox were victorious 7-3 against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series north of the border thanks to a couple of Canadians.

Victoria’s Nick Pivetta picked up the win after pitching seven innings and giving up three runs on nine hits. He also recorded four strikeouts and one walk.

The 31-year-old levelled his record on the season to 4-4 and improved to a 3.88 ERA.

“It’s always very exciting for me to pitch in my home country,” Pivetta told reporters after the game. “My mom was here today with my aunt, so I think that’s really great. I was happy that we could put the win together and have a good day.”

Left fielder Tyler O’Neill, from Burnaby, B.C., opened the scoring for the Red Sox with a solo home run in the first inning off of Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi.

The 28-year-old hit another solo shot off of Kikuchi in the top of the third that made it 4-1.

“It’s always fun coming back home and breathing that northern air, just being up here for a little bit,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill is batting .253 with 12 home runs and 23 RBIs during his first season with Boston. He was acquired during the off-season from the St. Louis Cardinals for pitchers Nick Robertson and Victor Santos.

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