Toronto Blue Jays Toronto Blue Jays Jose Bautista (right) and Melky Cabrera celebrate scoring on an RBI double from Edwin Encarnacion against Baltimore Orioles during third inning AL baseball action in Toronto on Sunday June 23, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
June 23, 2013 - 12:52 PM
TORONTO - Edwin Encarnacion and Colby Rasmus homered while Josh Johnson earned his first win of the season as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 13-5 on Sunday to tie a franchise record with their 11th straight victory.
Jose Bautista put the game out of reach with a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning to the delight of the sellout crowd of 45,214 on a hot, sunny afternoon at Rogers Centre.
Toronto (38-36) moved two games over the .500 mark by completing the three-game sweep. Johnson, who pitched into the seventh inning, had plenty of early run support as the Blue Jays put nine runs on the board in the first three frames.
Encarnacion drove in four runs and had three of Toronto's 14 hits.
The Blue Jays have won 11 games in a row on two other occasions: June 2-13, 1987 and Aug. 27-Sept. 7, 1998. They will go for the franchise record Monday night at Tampa Bay.
Baltimore (42-34) loaded the bases in the opening inning but Johnson (1-2) escaped unscathed when he got Matt Wieters to pop up in foul territory for the third out.
The Blue Jays also loaded the bases in the first. Encarnacion and Adam Lind singled before Rasmus drew a walk.
J.P. Arencibia was hit by a pitch to push Encarnacion across home plate for the opening run. Orioles starter Freddy Garcia (3-5) got Maicer Izturis on a strikeout to end the 32-pitch inning.
Toronto added three runs in the second inning. Emilio Bonifacio reached on a slap-bunt single, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Munenori Kawasaki.
Bonifacio scored on a sacrifice fly by Melky Cabrera. Bautista drew a walk and Encarnacion followed with his 21st home run of the season.
The Blue Jays knocked Garcia out of the game in a five-run third inning. Arencibia singled and scored on an Izturis double.
Bonifacio followed with a double of his own and scored on a two-out single by Cabrera. Bautista walked again and Encarnacion cashed him in with a two-run double off reliever T.J. McFarland.
Garcia was charged with seven hits, seven earned runs and he allowed two walks.
Baltimore got on the board with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Manny Machado doubled and scored on a double by Nick Markakis, who came across when Bonifacio booted a one-hopper from Chris Davis that ended up in shallow right field.
Johnson was pulled after Ryan Flaherty hit a two-run shot in the top of the seventh inning. The veteran right-hander allowed four earned runs, seven hits, an intentional walk and had five strikeouts.
Rasmus hit a solo homer in the bottom half of the seventh. The rainbow shot just cleared the wall in right field for his 14th homer of the year.
Flaherty added a solo homer in the ninth off Toronto reliever Dustin McGowan.
Notes: Esmil Rogers (3-2) is scheduled to start for the Blue Jays against the Rays, who will counter with fellow right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (5-3). ... Toronto has won three straight series for the first time since April 29-May 9, 2010. ... The Orioles had 11 hits in the game. ... The Blue Jays announced Sunday that they have signed five more players from the 2013 First Year Player Draft. They include first baseman L.B. Dantzler, shortstop Christian Vasquez, left-handers Scott Silverstein and Matt Dermody and right-hander Sean Ratcliffe from Pickering, Ont.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013