TORONTO -- Marcus Stroman was supposed to be finished for the season after having knee surgery in March.

But the Toronto Blue Jays right-hander was determined to return in September after he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during fielding drills at spring training.

He was as good as his word -- and then some.

Stroman won for the second time in as many starts since his return, pitching seven strong innings in the Blue Jays 6-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday.

The Blue Jays increased their lead in the American League East to 4 1/2 games over the second-place New York Yankees, who lost 5-1 to the New York Mets.

"What an outing for a guy that had no spring training, coming off a big injury everybody knew about," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "It's really pretty remarkable. But Stro's different. Not many guys could pull that off. Most guys would probably be done for the year. But he's motivated to come back, he's a great competitor and he's got great stuff."

Stroman (2-0) allowed six hits, one walk and one run while striking out three.

"Felt like I had a pretty good tempo," said Stroman who won the first start of his return last Saturday at Yankee Stadium. "It just felt great, sinker felt great. I stayed in rhythm. It just felt exciting to get back out there with the guys, feed off their energy."

Before the game, the sellout crowd at Rogers Centre applauded him.

"It's amazing the love Toronto has for me," he said. "It's just incredible. Right when I jogged out there the whole crowd started cheering me. I had the chills from that time on throughout the whole game."

First baseman Justin Smoak keyed a three-run fourth inning with a two-run double as the Blue Jays (85-62) won their third straight game.

Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello (8-13) departed after allowing two runs in the sixth inning.

After three straight singles and a force out left the bases loaded with one out in the sixth, a wild pitch by Porcello allowed one run to score. Second baseman Cliff Pennington lofted a sacrifice fly to left to score the other run.

Right-hander Matt Barnes took over for Porcello in the seventh.

Porcello allowed eight hits, two walks and six runs (five earned) and had four strikeouts in six innings. He had won three of his four previous starts with one loss.

"All things considered, I don't think he threw the ball as bad as his numbers indicated," Red Sox interim manager Torey Lovullo said. "I do know that he was having trouble with his curveball. We just gave this team extra chances at times and they took advantage of them, and that's why they're in first place.

"You have to give Stroman a little bit of credit. He came in, he was very, very effective. He was aggressive with several pitches and he kept a very offensive team in check."

The Blue Jays sent in right-hander Liam Hendriks to replace Stroman for the eighth.

Right-hander Aaron Sanchez pitched the ninth.

The Blue Jays took the lead with a third-inning run. Center fielder Kevin Pillar led off with a double on a line drive that glanced off the glove of third baseman Brock Holt.

Pennington sacrificed Pillar to third and left fielder Ben Revere scored him with a groundout to first.

The Blue Jays added three runs in the fourth. Right fielder Jose Bautista led off with a walk. Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, who grounded into a double play in the first inning, hit another grounder with double-play potential, but Holt failed to come up with the ball and was charged with an error.

Smoak drove in both runners with a double to left-center and scored on a one-out triple to right by shortstop Ryan Goins to make the score 4-0.

The Red Sox (69-77) came back with a run in the fifth. First baseman Travis Shaw led off with a soft single to center. He was forced at second on a grounder to second by left fielder Rusney Castillo.

Catcher Blake Swihart hit a bloop single to center. Castillo scored from third on an infield single to third by second baseman Josh Rutledge.

"(Stroman) threw the ball well," Shaw said. "He was mixing it in on both sides of the plate. He was just attacking the zone, especial early in the count. When guys like that can control their two-seamer to both sides of the plate, it can be difficult."

NOTES: The Blue Jays and Red Sox will play two spring training games at Olympic Stadium in Montreal April 1-2. It will be the third straight year the Blue Jays have ended their spring training schedule in Montreal, playing the New York Mets in 2014 and the Cincinnati Reds this year. ... LHP Rich Hill, who had his contract selected from Triple-A Pawtucket on Sept. 8, will make his second start for the Red Sox on Sunday. The 35-year-old allowed one hit and no runs while striking out 10 over seven innings in a no-decision at Tampa Bay on Sept. 13. Boston won 2-0 in 13 innings. ... Toronto RHP R.A. Dickey (10-11, 4.08 ERA) will try for the 100th win of his career Saturday in the middle game of the three-game series when he faces Boston LHP Wade Miley (11-10, 4.41 ERA).