ESPN MLB

TORONTO -- Jason Varitek needed a little extra time to ice his aching body after this seesaw slugfest.

Varitek had four RBIs, Marco Scutaro scored a career-high four runs and the Boston Red Sox held off the Toronto Blue Jays 13-12 on Monday night.

"I would have taken a 2-1 game rather than a 4-hour game behind the plate, to be honest with you," Varitek said with a laugh. "I was a little tired after about the fourth inning."

Varitek went 3 for 5 with a pair of two-run singles and Scutaro was 3 for 5 with a walk against his former team. Boston set season highs for runs and hits (18) in a wild game that lasted 4 hours, 3 minutes -- the longest nine-inning game in the majors this season, according to STATS LLC.

The Red Sox have been involved in the four longest nine-inning games of the year -- two against the New York Yankees (3:48 and 3:46) during their season-opening series and one against Texas (3:46) on April 20, according to STATS.

Varitek didn't have to crouch through those games, but he was behind the plate for all of a 12-inning win over Texas on April 21 that lasted 3:49.

"That was not the way we drew it up," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "I think I've said that a few times this year."

Jose Bautista hit a three-run homer and Lyle Overbay added a solo shot for Toronto, which rallied from an early 5-0 deficit against Josh Beckett. Overbay went 3 for 5 with four RBIs and scored twice.

Scott Schoeneweis (1-0) got one out for the win and Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save.

Shawn Camp (1-1) allowed three runs and four hits in 1 2/3 innings.

Toronto's 12 runs and 16 hits also were season highs.

Beckett, who came in with a 6.62 ERA in 12 career starts against the Blue Jays, gave up eight runs and nine hits in three-plus innings, while Toronto's Dana Eveland allowed seven runs and eight hits in three-plus innings.

Beckett, who allowed seven runs to Texas in his previous start and saw his ERA balloon to 7.22 after this one, acknowledged feeling frustrated by the poor results.

"You try to make every adjustment you can," he said. "Unfortunately, every adjustment I made got hit harder than the last one."

With the offenses in high gear, Varitek said Beckett's line wasn't a fair reflection of his performance.

"He didn't have much margin for error," Varitek said. "They didn't let him breathe one bit. Whether he made good pitches or misfired a pitch, or whatever it was, today was one of those days I can honestly say you've got to credit the other team more than you have to look at what Josh did."

Both managers were planning bullpen overhauls after using 13 pitchers for a combined 399 pitches.

"We need somebody," Francona said. "We're a little thin."

Toronto didn't wait to make a move, sending right-hander Jeremy Accardo to Triple-A Las Vegas and designating righty Merkin Valdez for assignment. Right-hander Josh Roenicke and lefty Rommie Lewis were called up from Las Vegas.

"We'd be hurting a little bit if we don't get some fresh arms," manager Cito Gaston said.

Leading 1-0 on J.D. Drew's first-inning RBI single, Boston made it 5-0 with a four-run third. Varitek hit a two-run single and Adrian Beltre followed with a two-run double.

Toronto roared back in the bottom half with a six-run, 10-batter inning. Fred Lewis led off with a triple and scored on Aaron Hill's single. Vernon Wells doubled Hill to third and both runners scored on Overbay's double. After Alex Gonzalez singled, Bautista drilled a first-pitch homer into the second deck in left, his fourth.

Boston reclaimed its lead in the fourth. Eveland left with runners at first and second and was replaced by Accardo. After Kevin Youkilis loaded the bases with a single, Accardo uncorked a run-scoring wild pitch. Two batters later, Varitek lined a two-run single to center.

Toronto tied it again in the bottom half. Beckett left after opening the inning with walks to Hill and Adam Lind, and Scott Atchison gave up a two-out, two-run triple to Gonzalez, making it 8-all.

Boston jumped in front again in the fifth when Dustin Pedroia singled off Camp, stole second and scored on a two-out hit by Youkilis, but Toronto tied it in the bottom half on an RBI single by Lind.

The Red Sox took the lead for good with a four-run sixth. Darnell McDonald hit an RBI double, Scutaro singled home a run and Pedroia capped it with a two-run double.

"I was just trying to figure out how we were going to win," Francona said. "Once we got to 13, we're trying to figure out, do you go for two?"

Toronto closed to within one in the eighth on Overbay's RBI single and Bautista's sacrifice fly.

Game notes

Boston RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (neck) threw a 69-pitch simulated game and will make his season debut Saturday at Baltimore, replacing RHP Tim Wakefield in the rotation. ... The Blue Jays were the last team to score six runs in an inning off Beckett, doing it Aug. 17, 2008. ... Attendance was 13,847.