TORONTO — It may seem strange in hindsight following an easy 8-0 win, but the key turning point for the Red Sox last night may have come in the first inning.

Starter Tim Wakefield, who would go on to toss seven shutout innings, was in trouble in the first following two singles and a walk to Troy Glaus.

But with the bases loaded and one out, first baseman Kevin Youkilis and catcher Doug Mirabelli put a play on. Wakefield fanned Frank Thomas and Mirabelli immediately fired down to Youkilis, who took the throw and slapped a tag on the Jays third baseman before he could get back to the bag.

The double play ended the inning and the Jays never recovered.

“That was huge, said Wakefield in retrospect. “I was struggling with my control and I fell behind Frank. It was huge for us to get out of that without any damage and I settled down after that.

“[Mirabelli] knew and I knew it was on, revealed Youkilis. “It was definitely a huge play to get out of a bases-loaded situation with no n runs scoring. Wake was having a little trouble and you never know what could happen.

Lowell feasts on Jays

Mike Lowell might have left Rogers Centre last night kicking and screaming. Unfortunately for the Red Sox third baseman, the Sox don’t get another look at Toronto pitching until right after the All-Star break.

In the three-game sweep by the Sox, Lowell had three homers one in each game. In the series opener, he hit a three-run homer. In the middle game, he smashed a solo shot in the ninth. And last night, he doubled the Red Sox lead from 3-0 to 6-0 with another three-run shot in the third.

In seven games against Toronto this season, Lowell has five homers and nine RBI and is hitting a robust .407 (11-for-27). All but two of Lowell’s seven homers this season have come against the Jays and over the course of his career, Lowell is hitting .376.

Asked to explain his success, Lowell was at a loss.

“I can’t,” he said, smiling. “It’s just one of those fluke things. I see the ball good here that helps. And extra-base hits tend to come in streaks.”

This is the second time in his career that Lowell has homered in three straight games. The first came April 3-5, 2003 while with the Florida Marlins.

Drew’s bat awakens

As part of the Red Sox 13-hit attack, J.D. Drew awoke from his slump last night, delivering two singles in his first three at-bats.

Coming into the night, Drew was mired in a 4-for-41 skid over his previous 12 games, resulting in a .098 average in that span.

Youkilis returned to the lineup after sitting out the middle game of the series with a sore left leg, the result of being hit there for the second time in as many games Tuesday.

Youkilis didn’t waste any time contributing offensively after his one-game layoff. He doubled and scored in the first, singled home a run and later scored in the third and smashed a run-scoring double in the fourth.

Jon Lester, who was originally scheduled to take yesterday off, felt strong enough to play catch from a distance of 120 feet. He’ll likely rest today and resume his program tomorrow, working toward a mound session and, eventually, a return to Pawtucket where he can continue to build arm strength. Alex Cora got the start, despite the fact that Dustin Pedroia had multi-hit games in each of his last four starts and lifted his batting average from .206 at the start of the trip to its present .267. “We’re at a good point now, said Terry Francona. “Pedroia is to the point where he feels part of the team and isn’t looking over his shoulder. But at the same time, AC is a good player. We have a good setup. It’s a good situation to be in.”

smcadam@projo.com