Red Sox are no match for Halladay

BOSTON -- The Red Sox were on a hitting tear until Roy Halladay came to town.

Halladay stopped Boston’s potent offense and spoiled Paul Byrd’s debut with the Red Sox, pitching his major league-leading eighth complete game in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 4-1 victory Saturday night.

The loss ended Boston’s four-game winning streak and came after the Red Sox scored 37 runs in a three-game sweep of Texas.

“You can’t get caught up on how a team’s going . . . good or bad,” Halladay said after pitching his 39th career complete game.

“Sure, they were swinging the bats good against Texas. I look at quality pitches. I try to avoid who’s hot and who’s not.”

Indeed, Halladay seemed unaffected by Boston’s big numbers in its previous three games. The Red Sox had a 10-run inning and a nine-run inning against the Rangers.

Halladay (14-9) improved to 10-4 in his last 16 starts, limiting the Red Sox to six singles before Dustin Pedroia’s homer leading off the ninth. He walked one and struck out four in the seven-hitter, holding an opponent to one earned run or fewer for the 13th time in 32 starts this season.