SPORTSTICKER AL RECAP (TORONTO-BOSTON) BOSTON (Ticker) -- John Valentin hit his first grand slam in over four years and drove in five runs while Tim Wakefield baffled the Toronto Blue Jays with his knuckleball, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 6-4 victory. Valentin and rookie Trot Nixon each had four hits, a career high for the later. Valentin's third career grand slam highlighted a five-run third inning and was his first since May 2, 1995 at New York. He had not hit a grand slam in Fenway Park since August 22, 1992 against Seattle. Wakefield (2-4) lasted 8 1/3 innings and allowed three runs -- two earned -- although a pair crossed when John Wasdin allowed a two-run triple to Jose Cruz with two outs in the ninth. Wasdin yielded an RBI single to Craig Grebeck before giving way to Tom Gordon, who retired Mark Dalesandro on two pitches for his sixth save -- his 49th straight conversion. Wakefield won for the first time since April 8 -- his first start of the season. He struck out seven and gave up four hits and three walks in his longest outing of 1999. He had been 0-4 in his previous six starts, lasting no longer than 5 1/3 innings. "The key is getting some confidence and having some fun. The key is to get the ball in the hitting area and work on that," said Wakefield, who talked with Hall-of-Fame knuckelballer Phil Niekro at the end of April when the Red Sox were in Minnesota. "It never hurts to talk to him. It's just being confident and throwing strikes. I feel I'm getting into a groove. It feels good to get a win. It was a great day, a perfect day for baseball." It was Wakefield's first win over the Blue Jays since June 25, 1997. "He had a great feel for the knuckleball today, but all three pitches, including the slow and the hard one, he had a great feel for them today," catcher Jason Varitek said. "I'll let him know if it has a loose spin and that he's not keeping it tight, but I didn't have to do that today. He's throwing very well. He threw well in Toronto and did well today." Boston manager Jimy Williams observed Wakefield getting outs using pitches aside from the knuckleball. "He used his curve a couple of times to get outs, as well as his fastball," Williams said. "He used a lot of his other pitches. That's how he got some of his outs. He didn't rely just on his knuckleball. He mixed things up effectively." With the Red Sox trailing 1-0, Darren Lewis reached on a fielding error by shortstop Homer Bush to lead off the third. Nixon singled and Jose Offerman reached on a bunt single to load the bases. Valentin then turned on a 3-0 fastball down the middle of the plate and belted it over the "Green Monster" in left field for his fifth homer of the season. "He has that confidence in me in that situation," Valentin said of getting the green light from Williams. "I was able to be patient and aggressive. "You just go out and swing and see what happens. It's a situation where I don't want to make a silly out. The pitch was a strike. You don't want to make an easy out. You try to zero in and swing. I know what pitch I like. I look for that specific pitch. Experience does that for me." Troy O'Leary doubled two outs later and scored on Mike Stanley's single to make it 5-1. It Boston's fourth five-run inning of the year. After a 12-14 start, the Red Sox have won 13 of their last 16 games. They are 10-2 in their last 12 home games. Chris Carpenter (3-4) gave up five runs -- three earned -- and 10 hits with two walks and five strikeouts in six innings in his third straight loss for stumbling Toronto. The Blue Jays are 9-20 in their last 29 games after opening the season 12-4. "I try to be fine at ball three, I've got to groove one into him," Carpenter said of the pitch Valentin hit for a grand slam. "I made a couple of mistakes; I went slider, slider fastball before he hit it." Carpenter thinks a former teammate might have revealed something to the Red Sox. "Stanley played with me for three months," Carpenter said. "He's a veteran. He probably tipped the guys a little bit." Wakefield cruised through the first eight innings and retired the first batter in the ninth before running into trouble. He walked Carlos Delgado and hit Tony Fernandez with a pitch before leaving for Wasdin. Wasdin struck out Dave Hollins but allowed Cruz's triple, cutting the lead to 6-3. Grebeck added a run-scoring single before Gordon was forced into action. Toronto manager Jim Fregosi opted to stay with Dalesandro, a ninth-place hitter batting .174. Dalesandro flew out to end the game. Nixon started the eighth with a single and Offerman walked before Valentin singled in the sixth run for the Red Sox. Valentin misplayed a grounder by Shannon Stewart -- the first batter of the game -- at third base. Stewart stole second, went to third on a grounder by Bush and scored on a groundout by Shawn Green.  