TORONTO — The Red Sox did not have their two best relief pitchers available against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night. Craig Kimbrel and Addison Reed had each pitched three days in a row and needed a day off.

With a four-game series starting against the Yankees on Thursday, it was mandatory.

The best way around that obstacle was for Rick Porcello to work deep into the game and the offense to pile up a few runs.

The result was a 7-1 victory and a three-game series sweep of the Jays, a team with a fading pulse. Porcello pitched into the seventh inning and Mitch Moreland homered and drove in four runs.

The bullpen was perfect, too, as Joe Kelly retired the final six batters.

Now the Sox are 5½ games ahead of the Yankees, matching their biggest lead in the division this season. Cleveland swept a doubleheader from the Yankees in New York on Wednesday.

The Jays have lost 10 of their last 12 games. The Sox play Toronto six more times, all at Fenway Park.

Of the 16 runs the Sox scored in the series, 12 were against relief pitchers. The Jays also allowed the Sox to steal 11 bases without being caught.

The Sox are 10-3 against the Jays this season and finished 8-1 at Rogers Centre. The Sox have won 10 of the last 13 road games.

Toronto catcher Raffy Lopez hit a solo home run off Porcello in the third inning. It was the 32nd he has allowed, tied for the second-most in baseball this season.

The fourth inning was a disaster in the making. Kendrys Morales, Kevin Pillar, and Ryan Goins had singles to load the bases with one out. Only Morales’s complete lack of speed kept a run from scoring.

Darwin Barney followed with a line drive up the middle that Porcello caught. Porcello looked at all three bases but the play happened so quickly that the runners were able to get back.

Porcello then struck out Lopez on four pitches and came off the mound pumping his fist.

It was the start of a streak that saw Porcello retire 10 in a row until Lopez walked with two outs in the seventh inning. Rob Refsnyder followed with a single.

With lefthanded-hitting Ezequiel Carrera up, Sox manger John Farrell went to lefthander Robby Scott. A fly ball to center ended the inning.

Lefty hitters are 2 for their last 22 against Scott.

Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ had a 2.30 earned run average in his previous five starts against the Red Sox. The lefthander continued that success, opening the game with four shutout innings.

The Sox had runners on base in each of those innings but did not score until Hanley Ramirez homered leading off the fifth. Ramirez’s 21st home was measured at 102 miles per hour off the bat. He has two home runs and two doubles in three games since being dropped to the seventh spot in the order.

That was the only run Happ allowed over six innings and 105 pitches. But as was the case on Monday and Tuesday, Toronto’s bullpen let the game get away.

Facing Tom Koehler, Ramirez doubled down the left field line. Farrell then sent up Moreland against the righthander in place of Chris Young.

Koehler fell behind, 2 and 0, then Moreland took a breaking ball for a strike before unloading on a high fastball and sending it 423 feet to right field. The ball landed deep in the seats in the second deck.

It was the first pinch-hit home run of the season for the Sox.

Moreland is 3 for 7 with five RBIs as a pinch hitter this season. Since 2014, he is 18 of 38 (.474) with 11 RBIs. It was his first pinch-hit home run since 2013 and the third of his career.

When Ramirez plays first base against lefthanded starters, Moreland has become a valuable asset off the bench for Farrell.

The Sox added to their lead with four runs in the eighth inning.

Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts had RBI doubles and Moreland a two-run single.

Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.