TORONTO — David Price was standing on the mound ready to throw a pitch to Russell Martin in the sixth inning on Saturday when a young man wearing a Toronto Blue Jays T-shirt jumped out of the right-field stands.

By the time Rogers Centre security reacted, the presumably well-oiled fan slid into second base and was headed to third before he was tackled.

A police officer ambled over with handcuffs and the man was finally led away.

“I can’t recall another time I’ve been on the mound with somebody running out,’’ Price said.

The delay was such that Price threw a few pitches from the mound to stay loose.

That was enough for Red Sox manager Alex Cora. He came out of the dugout and called Carson Smith out of the bullpen to replace Price.

Why take a chance? Price needed a positive outing and to that point had held the Blue Jays to two runs. He had done enough.

“He competed, that’s what we wanted for him,’’ Cora said.

Smith and three other relievers finished off what was a 5-2 victory for Price and the Sox after what was an eventful week for the lefthander.

Price was scratched from his start against the Yankees on Wednesday because of numbness in his pitching hand. He returned to Boston for a battery of tests that revealed what the team said was a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Price rejoined the team and promised he would make every start the rest of the season amid spurious suggestions he had ducked the Yankees.

Against the Blue Jays, Price allowed five hits, walked three, and struck out six. He showed a more creative mix of pitches that included a curveball largely missing from his previous starts.

“I saw something different the way he pitched,’’ Cora said. “There was a difference in speeds. Mixing [in] that breaking ball is very important. He induced weak contact.’’

Cora was under the impression Price was unhappy with how he pitched. If so, Price changed his mind by the time he spoke to reporters.

“It was good to get back out there and the more I threw the better I felt,’’ said Price, who threw 55 of 93 pitches for strikes. “That’s always a good sign.’’

Price improved to 3-4 and dropped his earned run average to 4.89. He is 18-3 with a 2.43 ERA in 27 career appearances against the Jays.

“It’s great he’s out there healthy. He did a great job of giving us a chance to win,’’ said Mookie Betts, who was 3 for 5 with two doubles and two runs scored. “He did his thing.’’

Price had allowed 21 earned runs over 23 innings in his previous five starts. The lefty acknowledged a sense of relief.

“Yeah, absolutely,’’ Price said. “Like I said, the more I threw the better I felt. I think that’s a very good sign.’’

The Red Sox took a 3-0 lead in the third inning against Toronto starter Marco Estrada (2-3).

Betts doubled to left field and scored when Andrew Benintendi doubled to the gap in left. Hanley Ramirez then drove a poorly located fastball over the fence in left field for his sixth home run, the second in three days.

“I’m feeling loose,’’ said Ramirez, who played the old Ritchie Valens hit “La Bamba’’ as loud as the clubhouse sound system would go before the game.

Price threw 28 pitches in the fourth and allowed a run.

With two outs and a runner on first base, Price walked the .149-hitting Martin. Rookie Anthony Alford followed with a single to center field for his first major league RBI.

The Sox pushed their lead to 4-1 in the sixth inning. Xander Bogaerts doubled to left-center and scored on a single to center by Rafael Devers.

Devers has 24 RBIs, fourth most on the team.

Justin Smoak led off the bottom of the sixth with a home run to left field when Price left a two-seam fastball high.

Betts doubled again in the ninth inning and this time scored on Benintendi’s single.

Once Price left the game. Smith, Hector Velazquez, Joe Kelly, and Craig Kimbrel held the Jays to two hits and stuck out six.

It was the 11th save for Kimbrel. Sox relievers had allowed 11 earned runs over 10⅔ innings in the previous four games.

The Sox are 5-4 on a road trip that ends Sunday with Drew Pomeranz on the mound. The Sox have won 14 of their last 18 games at Rogers Centre.

Starting Monday, 13 of the next 16 games will be at Fenway Park.

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