BOSTON -- On a Saturday afternoon in July 1923, the Red Sox were on the road for a doubleheader when Cleveland scored a run in every inning -- with the largest margin coming in a 13-run sixth -- en route to a 27-3 drubbing in Game 1.

It was the most runs allowed in Red Sox franchise history. Until Friday night.

In the first game after the All-Star break, the Red Sox’s skid reached a historic low as the Blue Jays set franchise records in both runs and hits to take the series opener at Fenway Park, 28-5.

• Box score

Boston knew how important this three-game series against the Blue Jays would be, with Toronto up by two games for the third American League Wild Card spot. After losing 10 of their final 13 games leading into the summer recess, the Red Sox spent that time off thinking about how to stay in playoff contention amid an AL East in which they have yet to win a series.

The stage was set for them to start fresh. Instead, they looked listless.

"[It was] very tough,” said manager Alex Cora. “We didn’t execute pitches. We didn’t play good defense. … Overall, not a great night. We’ve got to make adjustments, and we’ve got to find a way.

“We just got to be better.”

Starter Nathan Eovaldi allowed nine runs in 2 2/3 innings, his most earned runs allowed this season. It was not his shortest outing, however; that came on May 17 against the Astros, when he allowed nine runs (six earned) in 1 2/3 innings. All nine were scored in the second inning, making it the most runs Boston had allowed in a single frame this year.

The Blue Jays topped that in the fifth inning, scoring 11 runs on six singles and two doubles. They were aided by the Red Sox along the way, as right-hander Kaleb Ort -- who allowed eight runs in two-thirds of an inning -- watched as a Matt Chapman popup dropped right next to him between the mound and home plate.

“Regardless how many runs I give up, if I come out of the game and we’re losing, it’s frustrating for me to watch,” Eovaldi said. “For me, I treated the All-Star break as much as I normally would my five-day routine. I knew that I was starting the first game, so I was going to be prepared for tonight. And I didn’t go out there and execute. I put our guys in a bad situation.”

In Eovaldi’s previous worst start vs. Houston, the Astros hit five homers in order to rack up that many runs. On Friday, the Blue Jays needed only one, and it came rather unconventionally in their seven-run third inning.

After Raimel Tapia made contact with a ball deep to center, he nearly dropped to a knee, thinking he had hit an inning-ending flyout with the bases loaded. But as Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran jogged forward with his arms spread sideways, it was clear that he didn’t see the ball. It landed several yards behind him, and as it settled on the warning track, Duran didn’t give it a chase. By the time Alex Verdugo slid in from left to corral it, Tapia was well on his way to an inside-the-park grand slam.

In between Eovaldi and Ort, left-hander Austin Davis allowed three homers in 1 1/3 innings. Not until Jake Diekman in the seventh and Hirokazu Sawamura in the eighth were the Red Sox able to get in and out of an inning unscathed.

At that point, the Blue Jays were still sitting on 27 runs, which would have kept Boston in a tie with that 1923 contest. But in the top of the ninth, the Red Sox sent position player Yolmer Sánchez -- whose contract had just been selected from Triple-A Worcester that day -- to the mound. He allowed a double and a pair of singles, as Chapman drove in the 28th run of the night.

“You’re trying to navigate the game and use guys in spots. They’re uncomfortable, right?” Cora said. “But at the same time, it’s one loss. It doesn’t look great. Like I said, it’s not about what they did offensively, but what we didn’t do defensively, on the mound. It was tough to watch. It was tough to be in the dugout, to be honest with you.

“I would like to say that this happens, but it doesn’t happen often. We’ve just got to turn the page and get ready for tomorrow. That’s the only way you can attack the next one.”