TORONTO — To be certain, David Price signed with the Red Sox primarily because they offered him the most lucrative contract. But the lefthander also looked at the organization’s base of young talent and ability to make in-season trades to improve the roster.

Winning mattered to Price and he made sure the Sox were positioned to improve after consecutive last-place finishes.

“Absolutely. One of the reasons I came here were the young guys we have. It’s shown this season with what they’ve done,’’ Price said Sunday before the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-8.

“The team has gotten better throughout the season. We made trades; we used a lot of young guys. It has been fun.’’

Price also has been a big part of the turnaround. He is 15-8 with a 3.87 earned run average and is tied for third in the American League lead with 197⅔ innings.

After a slow start, Price has been one of the best starters in baseball. He has a 3.11 earned run average in 23 starts dating to May 12 and is 6-0 with a 2.14 ERA in his last six starts.

“I feel great,’’ said Price, who faces the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night at Fenway Park. “Physically I’m in a groove going every five days and I feel good on the mound.

“Throwing strikes is easy now. Before I had to work just throw strikes and that’s never good. I usually get to the certain point where throwing strikes is second nature and I feel that way now. When you get in a groove like that, you try and stay in it as long as you can.’’

The Sox are two games ahead of the Blue Jays and Orioles with 20 games remaining. The Yankees are four back.

“We’ve played really well and other teams in our division also have played well. It’s kind of how it always been,’’ Price said. “Winning the division is a big deal. You don’t want to get into a one-game [wild-card] playoff because anything can happen in one game. Any team can beat anybody in one game.

“Our goal is to win the division so we get a good chance to get to the next round.’’

Price has pitched in four playoff games against the Red Sox, once at Fenway Park. He is eager to experience the playoff atmosphere with the fans rooting for him.

“That would be a ton of fun. It’s a great environment because the fans are right on top of you,’’ Price said. “Whenever I was on the visiting side, I loved pitching at Fenway. I want to win at home in the playoffs, for sure.’’

Manager’s dilemma

Former Red Sox lefthander Rich Hill was taken out of a perfect game after seven innings on Saturday night. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was worried Hill would have more issues with the blister that has wrecked much of his season.

Hill was furious at the time but said later he understood.

Sox manager John Farrell said he empathized with Roberts.

“[Roberts is] in a tough spot. He’s got to balance the bigger picture with personal accomplishment,’’ he said. “I know one thing: He’s got a pitcher ready to go in five days who’s not injured and that’s probably the overriding thing from afar.’’

Farrell said he probably would have given Hill another inning and evaluated the situation from there. But he acknowledged Hill having missed six weeks with the blister was a factor.

Papi power

David Ortiz’s three-run homer in the sixth inning was one for the history books.

It was Ortiz’s 535th home run, giving him sole possession of 18th place all-time. He had been tied with Jimmie Foxx. Ortiz is now one behind Mickey Mantle.

Ortiz has 110 RBIs this season, a record for a player in his age-40 season or older. The mark had been 108 RBIs by Dave Winfield with the 1992 Blue Jays.

Ortiz leaves Rogers Centre with 41 homers, 76 extra-base hits, and 108 RBIs. All are records for visiting players.

Road warriors

The Sox are 39-32 on the road with wins in 13 of the last 20 games . . . Dustin Pedroia’s double in the fourth inning extended his hitting streak against the Blue Jays to 29 games. It’s the longest active streak by a player against any team . . . Toronto third baseman Josh Donaldson was 0 for 11 in the series and is hitless in his last 23 at-bats . . . The Sox and Jays have split 16 games with three remaining at Fenway to end the regular season . . . The pregame ceremonies including a moment of silence for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. An honor guard with the Canadian and United States flags was on the field for both national anthems. The Sox players and coaches had flag patches on their caps . . . The Jays also paid tribute to Ontario firefighter Patrick Pidgeon, who died in July battling a fire. Pidgeon also served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan with the Canadian Forces.

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