Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 1

With their lead atop the AL East getting ever smaller, Boston expects to learn a lot about themselves before the end of the season.

The Red Sox saw their division lead cut to 1½ games -- their smallest edge since late April -- when Toronto Blue Jays broke through against Clay Buchholz and Jonathan Papelbon for the victory.

"We've got to fight through," manager Terry Francona said. "How good of a team you end up being is how you handle adversity. We'll handle it. It's not a lot of fun to lose, it can get frustrating, but how you handle that frustration goes a long way towards how you end up doing."

The Red Sox have lost four in a row and five of six, allowing the New York Yankees to close in.

"From now on, you're going to see who is who," shortstop Julio Lugo said.

The Red Sox are off Thursday before opening a three-game series at Tampa Bay on Friday night.

"It'll be good for us," Francona said of the day off. "Part of me wants to play tomorrow because you want to get back on track, but we'll take the day off and regroup, get some guys some much-needed rest and some other guys some medical attention."