Red Sox win game, lose Lowell, Colon

TORONTO -- Jason Varitek drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Boston Red Sox moved one step closer to a playoff berth with a 4-3 victory over Toronto on Friday.

Before the game, the Red Sox announced that third baseman Mike Lowell is expected to miss all three games against the Blue Jays because of a sore hip. They also said former Angel Bartolo Colon had been suspended without pay.

Colon was given permission to leave the team Wednesday and return home to the Dominican Republic to attend to a private matter. The 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner then informed the Red Sox on Friday that he wasn’t coming back.

Boston had intended to use Colon out of the bullpen, a role he was not happy with, Manager Terry Francona said. “He got home for the personal stuff and decided he wasn’t real comfortable,” Francona said.