The Toronto Blue Jays’ offence gave hard-luck starter Jo-Jo Reyes plenty of run support in his bid for his first win in almost three years.
Not that he needed it.

Reyes went the distance, allowing eight hits and striking out four as the Blue Jays hammered the Cleveland Indians 11-1 last night.
Reyes (1-4), who had tied a major-league record by going 28 starts without a win, was steady throughout the game and seemed to get more comfortable as the Blue Jays (28-26) padded their lead.
The Rogers Centre crowd of 12,902 was chanting his name in the ninth inning and Reyes was swarmed by his teammates on the mound after capping the victory with a strikeout.
“He was kind of serious when I first went out there,” said Jays’ ace Ricky Romero.
“I was like, ‘Hey man, you can smile now. It’s over.’
“I gave him a big hug. We’re all happy for him,” Romero added.
Jayson Nix homered, and Rajai Davis had three hits and scored three runs, as Toronto extended its winning streak to four games.
The Blue Jays never looked back after breaking the game open with a seven-run fourth inning.
“This night belongs to Jo-Jo,” said Jays’ manager John Farrell.
“Just an outstanding game on his part.”
Reyes entered play tied with Matt Keough (Oakland, 1978-’79) and Cliff Curtis (Boston, 1910-’11) for the longest winless stretch by a starting pitcher.
He last recorded a win on June 13, 2008 when his Atlanta Braves beat the L.A. Angels.
“I think it was just an awesome game,” a beaming Reyes said.
“I guess this was the way to do it if I had to choose.”
Nix put the Blue Jays on the board in the third inning when he sent a 2-2 pitch from Fausto Carmona (3-6) into the second deck in left field.
That was enough offence for Reyes, who threw 121 pitches, including 75 for strikes.
“He had been in a position to end this a while ago,” Farrell noted.
“Whether it’s baseball fate, whatever you want to call it to put an end to it, he finished what he started.”
The American League-leading Indians fell to 31-20 with their fifth loss in six games.
“We were up there battling,” said Cleveland first baseman Matt LaPorta. “You can’t look at records and stats, those things are out of his hands.”
“He was throwing a fastball, cutter, slider, and his change-up. He was coming inside and going away.
“He did a good job tonight.”
Reyes has pitched well enough to win on a few occasions this season. He’s tied for the American League lead with six no-decisions and Toronto is now 4-7 when he starts.
“I think we’ve all wanted this for him,” Romero said. “We’ve seen the way he’s handled it away from the crowd and away from everyone.
“He’s been a total professional about it.
““Not once did you ever hear him complain about anything,” Romero added. “He’s busted his tail and hopefully this is the first of many wins for him.”
The tall left-hander put runners on in each of the first three innings but managed to work his way out of trouble each time.
Michael Brantley led off the game with a single, but the Jays turned a nice 5-4-3 double play to snuff out the threat.
The Indians then opened the second with back-to-back singles before Reyes got two fly-outs and a strikeout.
In the third, Brantley reached on a walk before Reyes snagged a comebacker to start another double play.
Clean-up hitter Shelley Duncan hit a moon shot just inside the left-field foul pole in the fourth inning for the Indians’ lone run.
It was just the 15th time in stadium history that a home run had reached the fifth deck.
Washington Nationals’ slugger Jayson Werth—then with the Philadelphia Phillies—was the last to do it on June 27, 2009.
Elsewhere in the AL, Detroit nipped Minnesota 6-5, New York blanked Oakland 5-0, L.A. topped Kansas City 10-8, Seattle edged Baltimore 4-3, Texas dumped Tampa Bay 11-5, and Chicago beat Boston 7-3.

Barely above .500, the Toronto Blue Jays, not the first-place Cleveland Indians, are currently playing like the team with the AL’s best record.

The hot-hitting Blue Jays try for a fifth consecutive victory Tuesday night against an Indians club looking to avoid its second three-game skid in a week.

After totaling 22 runs and 33 hits in the final two wins of its weekend series with the Chicago White Sox, Toronto (28-26) kept the offense coming Monday with an 11-1 victory over the AL Central-leading Indians. Jo-Jo Reyes tossed a complete game for his first win in 29 starts while Jose Bautista, Corey Patterson, Rajai Davis and Jayson Nix each had two RBIs as the Blue Jays won for the 13th time in 19 games.

“(To give Reyes the win) in this fashion is superb,” said Davis, who had three hits and is batting .351 in his last nine games. “It’s awesome.”

Bautista is batting. 450 with six RBIs in his last six contests overall, and .412 with seven RBIs in his last five against the Indians.

The Blue Jays have recorded 58 hits while outscoring the White Sox and Indians 37-15 during their four-game winning streak.

Cleveland (31-20), meanwhile, has been outscored 44-12 while losing five of six.

“We’re scuffling this week,” said manager Manny Acta, who has watched his club total one run in its last three losses.

The high-scoring Blue Jays might be the last team Cleveland’s Mitch Talbot (1-1, 5.87 ERA) wants to face as he tries to bounce back from his roughest outing of the season. The right-hander allowed eight runs – seven in the first inning – and 12 hits over three innings of a 14-2 loss to Boston on Wednesday in his first appearance since missing more than a month with an elbow strain.

Acta, however, wouldn’t use the injury and long layoff as an excuse for Talbot’s poor performance.

“It’s 60 feet, 6 inches wherever you go. We don’t make excuses for anybody,” Acta said. “We’ve never done it and we’re not going to start now.”

In his only appearance against the Blue Jays on May 3, 2010, Talbot gave up five runs – four off three homers – and four walks in eight innings of a 5-1 loss.

The Blue Jays counter with Brandon Morrow (2-2, 4.38), who has not factored in the decision of his last two starts. The right-hander allowed one run and four hits in seven innings of a 3-1 loss to the White Sox on Thursday.

Morrow is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in two career starts against the Indians – both last season in Cleveland.

Cleveland’s Shelley Duncan had a homer among his two hits Monday, improving to 6 for 13 with five RBIs in his last four games.

Grady Sizemore is 0 for 12 in three games as the designated hitter since coming off the disabled list with a knee injury. After getting Monday off, Sizemore is expected to return to the outfield for this contest.

Barely above .500, the Toronto Blue Jays — not the first-place Cleveland Indians —are currently playing like the team with the American League’s best record.

The hot-hitting Blue Jays try for a fifth consecutive victory Tuesday night against an Indians club looking to avoid its second three-game skid in a week.

After totalling 22 runs and 33 hits in the final two wins of its weekend series with the Chicago White Sox, Toronto (28-26) kept the offence coming Monday with an 11-1 victory over the AL Central-leading Indians. Jo-Jo Reyes tossed a complete game for his first win in 29 starts while Jose Bautista, Corey Patterson, Rajai Davis and Jayson Nix each had two runs batted in as the Blue Jays won for the 13th time in 19 games.

“[To give Reyes the win] in this fashion is superb,” said Davis, who had three hits and is batting .351 in his last nine games. “It’s awesome.”

Bautista is batting. 450 with six RBIs in his last six contests overall, and .412 with seven RBIs in his last five against the Indians.

The Blue Jays have recorded 58 hits while outscoring the White Sox and Indians 37-15 during their four-game winning streak.

Cleveland (31-20), meanwhile, has been outscored 44-12 while losing five of six.

“We’re scuffling this week,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, who has watched his club total one run in its last three losses.

The high-scoring Blue Jays might be the last team Cleveland’s Mitch Talbot (1-1, 5.87) wants to face as he tries to bounce back from his roughest outing of the season. The right-hander allowed eight runs — seven in the first inning — and 12 hits over three innings of a 14-2 loss to Boston on Wednesday in his first appearance since missing more than a month with an elbow strain.

Acta, however, wouldn’t use the injury and long layoff as an excuse for Talbot’s poor performance.

“It’s 60 feet, six inches wherever you go,” Acta said. “We don’t make excuses for anybody.

“We’ve never done it and we’re not going to start now.”

In his only appearance against the Blue Jays on May 3, 2010, Talbot gave up five runs — four off three homers — and four walks in eight innings of a 5-1 loss.

The Blue Jays counter with Brandon Morrow (2-2, 4.38), who has not factored in the decision of his last two starts. The right-hander allowed one run and four hits in seven innings of a 3-1 loss to the White Sox on Thursday.

Morrow is 0-1 with a 4.76 earned-run average in two career starts against the Indians — both last season in Cleveland.

Cleveland’s Shelley Duncan had a homer among his two hits Monday, improving to 6 for 13 with five RBIs in his last four games.

Grady Sizemore is 0 for 12 in three games as the designated hitter since coming off the disabled list with a knee injury. After getting Monday off, Sizemore is expected to return to the outfield for this contest.

The Toronto Blue Jays’ offence gave hard-luck starter Jo-Jo Reyes plenty of run support in his bid for his first win in almost three years.

Not that he needed it.

Reyes went the distance, allowing eight hits and striking out four as the Blue Jays hammered the Cleveland Indians 11-1 Monday.

Reyes (1-4), who had tied a major league record by going 28 starts without a win, was steady throughout the game and seemed to get more comfortable as the Blue Jays (28-26) padded their lead.

The Rogers Centre crowd of 12,902 was chanting his name in the ninth inning and Reyes was swarmed by his teammates on the mound after capping the victory with a strikeout.

“He was kind of serious when I first went out there,” said Jays ace Ricky Romero. “I was like, ‘Hey man, you can smile now. It’s over.’

“I gave him a big hug. We’re all happy for him.”

Jayson Nix homered and Rajai Davis had three hits and scored three runs as Toronto extended its winning streak to four games. The Blue Jays never looked back after breaking the game open with a seven-run fourth inning.

“This night belongs to Jo-Jo,” said Jays manager John Farrell. “Just an outstanding game on his part.”

Reyes entered play tied with Matt Keough (Oakland, 1978-’79) and Cliff Curtis (Boston, 1910-’11) for the longest winless stretch by a starting pitcher. He last recorded a win on June 13, 2008, when his Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Angels.

“I think it was just an awesome game,” a beaming Reyes said. “I guess this was the way to do it if I had to choose.”

Elsewhere in the AL it was: New York 5 Oakland 0; Detroit 6 Minnesota 5; Los Angeles 10 Kansas City 8; Seattle 4 Baltimore 3; Texas 11 Tampa Bay 5; and Chicago 7 Boston 3.

At Toronto, Nix put the Blue Jays on the board in the third inning when he sent a 2-2 pitch from Fausto Carmona (3-6) into the second deck in left field. That was enough offence for Reyes, who threw 121 pitches, 75 for strikes.

“He had been in a position to end this a while ago,” Farrell said. “Whether it’s baseball fate, whatever you want to call it to put an end to it, he finished what he started.”

The American League-leading Indians fell to 31-20 with their fifth loss in six games.

“We were up there battling,” said Cleveland first baseman Matt LaPorta. “You can’t look at records and stats, those things are out of his hands. He was throwing a fastball, cutter, slider and his change-up. He was coming inside and going away. He did a good job tonight.”

Reyes has pitched well enough to win on a few occasions this season. He’s tied for the American League lead with six no-decisions and Toronto is now 4-7 when he starts.

“I think we’ve all wanted this for him,” Romero said. “We’ve seen the way he’s handled it away from the crowd and away from everyone. He’s been a total professional about it.

“Not once did you ever hear him complain about anything. He’s busted his tail and hopefully this is the first of many wins for him.”

The tall left-hander put runners on in each of the first three innings but managed to work his way out of trouble each time.

Michael Brantley led off the game with a single, but the Jays turned a nice 5-4-3 double play to snuff out the threat. The Indians opened the second with back-to-back singles before Reyes got two flyouts and a strikeout. In the third, Brantley reached on a walk before Reyes snagged a comebacker to start another double play.

Cleanup hitter Shelley Duncan hit a moon shot just inside the left-field foul pole in the fourth inning for the Indians’ lone run. It was the 15th time in stadium history that a home run had reached the fifth deck. Washington Nationals slugger Jayson Werth — then with the Philadelphia Phillies — was the last to do it on June 27, 2009.

In the bottom half of the fourth, Toronto loaded the bases with nobody out. Davis hit a two-run double down the left-field line to make it 4-1, sending Eric Thames to third base. Yunel Escobar drew a one-out walk to load the bases again and Corey Patterson followed with a grounder that handcuffed second baseman Orlando Cabrera.

The veteran infielder bobbled the ball as he turned to throw to second and then paused in frustration. That was enough to allow the speedy Davis to break for home, and he followed Thames across the plate. Jose Bautista padded the lead with a two-run double and later came across when J.P. Arencibia lashed a double to left field.

Toronto greeted reliever Chad Durbin by touching him up for two insurance runs in the fifth inning. Durbin lasted two innings before he was replaced by left-hander Rafael Perez.

Toronto outhit Cleveland 13-8. The game took two hours 21 minutes to play.

At Oakland, Calif., Bartolo Colon pitched a four-hitter for his first shutout in nearly five years and Mark Teixeira homered in the first inning to help the Yankees beat Oakland for the eighth straight time.

—

At Detroit, Alex Avila’s double in the eighth inning that appeared to hit a fan in the stands down the left-field line scored Jhonny Peralta from first base for the Tigers.

—

At Kansas City, Mo., Torii Hunter’s second home run, a two-run shot off Joakim Soria in the ninth, powered Los Angeles to the come-from-behind victory.

—

At Seattle, Jack Cust hit the second triple of his career, driving in two runs for the Mariners.

—

At St. Petersburg, Fla., Mike Napoli homered twice and drove in five runs to lead Texas over Tampa Bay.

—

At Boston, Alexei Ramirez and Carlos Quentin both had two RBIs in a four-run sixth inning as Chicago snapped Jon Lester’s seven-game winning streak.

TORONTO – Blue Jays starter Jo-Jo Reyes has been through his share of valleys since his last victory almost three years ago.

He has toiled in the minor leagues, battled injuries and come oh-so-close on several occasions to finally getting that elusive win. He finally got the result he was looking for Monday night as he threw his first career complete game in Toronto’s 11-1 rout of the Cleveland Indians.

Reyes (1-4), who had tied a major league record by going 28 starts without a win, allowed eight hits and struck out four. He was steady throughout the game and seemed to get more comfortable as the Blue Jays (28-26) padded their lead.

The Rogers Centre crowd of 12,902 was chanting his name in the ninth inning and Reyes was swarmed by his teammates on the mound after capping the victory with a strikeout.

“He was kind of serious when I first went out there,” said Jays ace Ricky Romero. “I was like, ‘Hey man, you can smile now. It’s over.’

“I gave him a big hug. We’re all happy for him.”

Jayson Nix homered and Rajai Davis had three hits and scored three runs as Toronto extended its winning streak to four games. The Blue Jays never looked back after breaking the game open with a seven-run fourth inning.

“This night belongs to Jo-Jo,” said Jays manager John Farrell. “Just an outstanding game on his part.”

Reyes entered play tied with Matt Keough (Oakland, 1978-’79) and Cliff Curtis (Boston, 1910-’11) for the longest winless stretch by a starting pitcher. He last recorded a win on June 13, 2008, when his Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Angels.

“I think it was just an awesome game,” a beaming Reyes said. “I guess this was the way to do it if I had to choose.”

Nix put the Blue Jays on the board in the third inning when he sent a 2-2 pitch from Fausto Carmona (3-6) into the second deck in left field. That was enough offence for Reyes, who threw 121 pitches, 75 for strikes.

“He had been in a position to end this a while ago,” Farrell said. “Whether it’s baseball fate, whatever you want to call it to put an end to it, he finished what he started.”

The American League-leading Indians fell to 31-20 with their fifth loss in six games.

“We were up there battling,” said Cleveland first baseman Matt LaPorta. “You can’t look at records and stats, those things are out of his hands. He was throwing a fastball, cutter, slider and his change-up. He was coming inside and going away. He did a good job tonight.”

Reyes has pitched well enough to win on a few occasions this season. He’s tied for the American League lead with six no-decisions and Toronto is now 4-7 when he starts.

“I think we’ve all wanted this for him,” Romero said. “We’ve seen the way he’s handled it away from the crowd and away from everyone. He’s been a total professional about it.

“Not once did you ever hear him complain about anything. He’s busted his tail and hopefully this is the first of many wins for him.”

The tall left-hander put runners on in each of the first three innings but managed to work his way out of trouble each time.

Michael Brantley led off the game with a single, but the Jays turned a nice 5-4-3 double play to snuff out the threat. The Indians opened the second with back-to-back singles before Reyes got two flyouts and a strikeout. In the third, Brantley reached on a walk before Reyes snagged a comebacker to start another double play.

Cleanup hitter Shelley Duncan hit a moon shot just inside the left-field foul pole in the fourth inning for the Indians’ lone run. It was the 15th time in stadium history that a home run had reached the fifth deck. Washington Nationals slugger Jayson Werth — then with the Philadelphia Phillies — was the last to do it on June 27, 2009.

In the bottom half of the fourth, Toronto loaded the bases with nobody out. Davis hit a two-run double down the left-field line to make it 4-1, sending Eric Thames to third base. Yunel Escobar drew a one-out walk to load the bases again and Corey Patterson followed with a grounder that handcuffed second baseman Orlando Cabrera.

The veteran infielder bobbled the ball as he turned to throw to second and then paused in frustration. That was enough to allow the speedy Davis to break for home, and he followed Thames across the plate. Jose Bautista padded the lead with a two-run double and later came across when J.P. Arencibia lashed a double to left field.

Toronto greeted reliever Chad Durbin by touching him up for two insurance runs in the fifth inning. Durbin lasted two innings before he was replaced by left-hander Rafael Perez.

Toronto outhit Cleveland 13-8.The game took two hours 21 minutes to play.

Notes: Blue Jays first baseman Juan Rivera was held without a hit in five at-bats. That ended his hitting streak at 11 games. Escobar had two hits to extend his streak to 11 games. … Toronto is two games over the .500 mark for the first time since April 9. … Bautista has reached base safely in 43 of 46 games this season. … Jays manager John Farrell said first baseman Adam Lind is making progress at extended spring training as he recovers from a back injury. Farrell is cautiously optimistic that Lind could be ready to return during this weekend’s series at Baltimore. … Brandon Morrow (2-2) is scheduled to start for the Blue Jays on Tuesday night. The Indians will counter with fellow right-hander Mitch Talbot (1-1).

TORONTO — Jayson Nix belted a two-run homer and Jo-Jo Reyes won his first game in almost three years as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Cleveland Indians 11-1 at Rogers Centre on Monday night.

Nix put the Blue Jays on the board in the third inning when he sent a 2-2 pitch from Fausto Carmona into the second deck in left field. That was enough offence for Reyes (1-4), who went the distance as Toronto (28-26) won its fourth straight game.

The Blue Jays broke the game open in the fourth inning with seven runs off Carmona (3-6). The American League-leading Indians fell to 31-20 with the loss.

Reyes had gone 28 starts without a victory, tying him with Matt Keough (Oakland, 1978-79) and Cliff Curtis (Boston, 1910-11) for the longest winless stretch by a starter in major league history. Reyes last recorded a win on June 13, 2008, when his Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Angels.

The tall left-hander put runners on in each of the first three innings but managed to work his way out of trouble each time.

Michael Brantley led off the game with a single, but the Jays turned a nice 5-4-3 double-play to snuff out the threat. The Indians opened the second with back-to-back singles before Reyes got two fly-outs and a strikeout. In the third, Brantley reached on a walk before Reyes snagged a comebacker to start another double-play.

Cleanup hitter Shelley Duncan hit a moon shot just inside the left-field foul pole in the fourth inning for the Indians’ lone run. It was the 15th time in stadium history that a home run had reached the fifth deck. Washington Nationals slugger Jayson Werth — then with the Philadelphia Phillies — was the last to do it on June 27, 2009.

In the bottom half of the fourth, Toronto loaded the bases with nobody out. Rajai Davis hit a two-run double down the left-field line to make it 4-1, sending Eric Thames to third base. Yunel Escobar drew a one-out walk to load the bases again and Corey Patterson followed with a grounder that handcuffed second baseman Orlando Cabrera.

The veteran infielder bobbled the ball as he turned to throw to second and then paused in frustration. That was enough to allow the speedy Davis to break for home, and he followed Thames across the plate. Jose Bautista padded the lead with a two-run double and later came across when J.P. Arencibia lashed a double to left field.

Toronto greeted reliever Chad Durbin by touching him up for two insurance runs in the fifth inning. Durbin lasted two innings before he was replaced by left-hander Rafael Perez.

An announced crowd of 12,902 took in the action. The game took two hours 21 minutes to play.

The Canadian Press

(Sports Network) – The Toronto Blue Jays have won three straight and are
coming off one of their best offensive outputs of the season. So, will left-
hander Jo-Jo Reyes be able to ride that momentum into his first victory in 29
starts, or will he take over his usual role as the cooler?

Reyes tries to avoid setting a major league record for consecutive starts
without a win this evening when Toronto begins a three-game series with the
Cleveland Indians at Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays come in on a modest role haven taken the final three contests of
a four-game series with the White Sox while plating 26 runs in their three
wins. Half of those came on Sunday in a 13-4 victory that was sparked by home
runs from Aaron Hill and Edwin Encarnacion, their firsts of the season.

Hill hit a grand slam and Encarnacion followed with a solo shot during a six-
run first inning, while Corey Patterson homered as one of his four hits and
drove in three. Juan Rivera extended his hitting streak to 11 straight games
with a pair of doubles and is batting .386 (17-for-44) over the run.

That was more than enough for starter Ricky Romero, who gave up two runs over
seven innings to earn the win.

“He seemed to settle down after the third inning. So the fourth inning through
the seventh I thought he got a much better rhythm going,” said Blue Jays
manager John Farrell.

Toronto is three games back of Boston for first place in the American League
West and may have to slug its way to a victory tonight given that Reyes has
not won a game since June 13, 2008 while with the Braves. He has lost 13
straight decisions since then and is 0-4 with a 4.70 earned run average in 10
starts this year.

The 26-year-old faced the Yankees on Wednesday and gave up five runs on five
hits over just three innings of a 7-3 setback. With his 28th straight start
without a victory, he matched Matt Keough’s major-league record set with
Oakland from 1978-79.

“I’m not worried about that streak,” said Reyes on Toronto’s website. “When I
step on the rubber, all I’m worried about is executing the pitch.

“It doesn’t get to me. It doesn’t bother me.”

He’ll hope the Indians don’t get to him much tonight as he faces them for the
first time. Reyes may be catching Cleveland at just the right time. Though the
club still holds the best record in the AL at 31-19, it has lost four of its
last five and has been outscored 33-11 in that span while getting shut out
twice.

One of those came on Sunday, a 7-0 defeat at Tampa Bay in the rubber match of
a three-game series. Justin Masterson was charged with seven runs — six
earned — on eight hits and five walks over five innings of work.

“Justin had a rough day today. He really struggled with his command,” Indians
manager Manny Acta said of his starter. “He obviously didn’t have a good
outing, but he’s been money for us so far.”

Travis Buck had one of five Cleveland hits, a double, while Grady Sizemore
struck out in all four of his at-bats. Sizemore is 0-for-12 with seven
strikeouts in three games since returning from a right knee contusion that had
him sidelined since May 16.

The Indians, who are 11-11 since May 4, sit six games up on the Tigers for
first place in the AL Central and hope that Fausto Carmona can pick up his
first victory in five starts tonight.

The right-hander has yielded 12 runs in consecutive losses, getting drilled
for eight runs over just five innings versus the White Sox on May 19 before
turning in a slightly better outing on Tuesday. Though he pitched at least
seven innings for the eighth time in 10 starts by going eight-plus frames,
Carmona allowed four runs and five hits to take the loss.

Carmona, 27, fell to 3-5 on the season with a 4.73 ERA but has never lost in
his career when facing the Blue Jays. In five starts against them, he is 3-0
with a 3.21 ERA.

The Indians have won six of their last seven versus the Blue Jays and took two
of three in the lone meeting at Rogers Centre last year.

The Sports Network

When: Tonight through Wednesday.

Where: Rogers Centre.

TV/radio: SportsTime Ohio; WTAM AM/1100.

Pitching matchups: RHP Fausto Carmona (3-5, 4.73 ERA) vs. LHP Jo-Jo Reyes (0-4, 4.70) tonight at 7:07; RHP Mitch Talbot (1-1, 5.87) vs. RHP Brandon Morrow (2-2, 4.38) Tuesday at 7:07 p.m. and RHP Josh Tomlin (6-2, 2.74) vs. RHP Kyle Drabek (3-3, 4.16) Wednesday at 7:07 p.m.

Season series: The Indians went 6-4 against Toronto last year. They lead, 183-182, overall.

Indians update: They hit .301 as a team against the Blue Jays last year. Matt LaPorta led the way, power-wise, with three homers and six RBI. Grady Sizemore (.308) and Carlos Santana (.304) chipped in. Carmona was 1-0, Talbot was 0-1 and Chris Perez had three saves against Toronto last year.

Jays update: They are 27-26 under rookie manager John Farrell. Current American League home run leader Jose Bautista hit .314 (11-for-35) with four homers and 10 RBI against the Tribe last year.

Injuries: Indians — DH Travis Hafner (right oblique), RHP Alex White (right middle finger), OF Trevor Crowe (right shoulder) and INF Jared Goedert (left oblique) are on the disabled list. Jays — INF John McDonald (right hamstring), RHP Jesse Litsch (right shoulder), 1B Adam Lind (back), LHP Jesse Carlos (left rotator cuff), RHP Dustin McGowan (right rotator cuff) are on the disabled list.

Next: Indians open six-game homestand with three-game series against Texas on Thursday.

Blue Jays pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes is winless in 28 straight starts dating back to June 13, 2008. (Abelimages/Getty Images)

It’s approaching three years since Jo-Jo Reyes’ last win, but the Toronto Blue Jays left-hander insists he’s not thinking about it.

It might be hard for him not to do so Monday night against the visiting Cleveland Indians, considering Reyes could set a dubious major league record by failing to win in a 29th consecutive start.

Acquired in a five-player deal with Atlanta in July, Reyes (0-4, 4.70 ERA) remains in search of his first victory since June 13, 2008, against the Los Angeles Angels while with the Braves. Oakland’s Matt Keough (Sept. 6, 1978-Aug. 8, 1979) and the Boston Braves’ Cliff Curtis (1910-11) are the only other pitchers to go 28 straight starts without a victory.

“I’m not worried about that streak,” Reyes said after giving up five runs in three innings of Wednesday’s 7-3 loss to the New York Yankees. “When I step on the rubber, all I’m worried about is executing the pitch.”

Though Reyes is coming off a poor performance, he has been worthy of winning many outings this year. He’s pitched at least six innings and given up fewer than three earned runs in half of his 10 starts.

Reyes has never faced Cleveland.

“I just worry about preparing for the next start. I haven’t looked at any video on the Indians, so I don’t know about them,” he said. “I’ll just prepare the same way I’ve been preparing all season.”

Reyes might not need his best stuff the way the Blue Jays (27-26) are hitting. Toronto scored 26 runs and pounded out 45 hits while winning three straight over the Chicago White Sox over the weekend. The Blue Jays’ 18 hits in Sunday’s 13-4 victory were their most since a 19-hit effort in an 8-6 win at Minnesota on April 13, 2009.

Toronto will try to extend its season-high home winning streak to four, but it has dropped eight of 11 at Rogers Centre against Cleveland (31-19).

The AL Central-leading Indians begin this three-game series having dropped four of five while averaging just 2.2 runs.

“Certainly not the way you want to start a road trip, especially being shut out two of three games,” manager Manny Acta said following Sunday’s 7-0 loss to Tampa Bay.

Monday’s scheduled starter, Fausto Carmona (3-5, 4.73), is well aware of how his club can struggle at the plate. He has one of the AL’s lowest run-support averages at 3.11.

In his last start, the right-hander yielded four runs over eight innings of Tuesday’s 4-2 home loss to Boston.

Carmona is 0-2 with a 6.97 ERA in his last three outings, but he is 3-0 with a 3.21 ERA in five starts against Toronto.

He’ll be careful pitching to Jose Bautista, who leads the majors with 20 homers and is batting .384 at home. Bautista was 4 for 10 with two homers and five RBIs as Toronto lost two of three in Cleveland’s last visit July 30-Aug. 1.

Corey Patterson is also proving to be a home run threat for the Blue Jays after going 9 for 12 with two homers and four RBIs in the last two games.

Patterson is 4 for 14 off Carmona and Bautista has a triple but no homers in four at-bats against him.

Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore is expected to play center field once in this series after going 0 for 12 with seven strikeouts as the designated hitter over the weekend. It was his first action since missing 13 games with a right knee contusion.

Sizemore is a career .202 hitter in 20 games in Toronto.

TORONTO — Aaron Hill hit his first career grand slam, Corey Patterson added a two-run shot and the Toronto Blue Jays routed the Chicago White Sox 13-4 on Sunday.

Patterson went 4 for 5 with three RBIs and has nine hits in two games. Edwin Encarnacion also homered for Toronto, which had a season-high 18 hits.

The Blue Jays have won 22 of 27 meetings with the White Sox, including 15 of 18 at home.

Ramon Castro hit a two-run homer, and Carlos Quentin added a solo shot for the White Sox, who have lost three straight and six of 10.

Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero (5-4) won for the third time in four starts, allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings.

White Sox left-hander John Danks (0-8) allowed a season-high nine runs and nine hits in four innings. He is the first White Sox pitcher since Eddie Smith in 1942 to start 0-8.

RED SOX 4, TIGERS 3: At Detroit, DavidOrtiz had a pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning off JoseValverde to give Boston a win over Detroit in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. Ortiz, pinch-hitting for JarrodSaltalamacchia, worked a full count against the Tigers’ closer, then hit a line drive over the scoreboard in right-center. Boston has won 13 of 15, including five in a row. MattAlbers (1-2) earned the win with two shutout innings of relief. Valverde (2-2) took the loss. JonathanPapelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save.

RAYS 7, INDIANS 0: At St. Petersburg, Fla., JeremyHellickson pitched seven impressive innings, JohnJaso homered, and Tampa Bay beat Cleveland. Hellickson (6-3) scattered three hits, walked two and had six strikeouts. The right-hander has won five of six starts. Jaso hit a two-run homer off JustinMasterson (5-3) as Tampa Bay went ahead 4-0 in the fourth. BenZobrist had an RBI grounder, and SamFuld hit a run-scoring infield single in a three-run fifth that extended the Rays’ lead to 7-0. Masterson, 1-6 in 11 career games against Tampa Bay, allowed seven runs, eight hits and five walks in five innings. He entered winless in his five previous starts — including two losses — despite a 2.80 ERA over the stretch.

ANGELS 6, TWINS 5: At Minneapolis, ErickAybar had three hits and three RBIs and DanHaren earned his first win since April 17 in LosAngeles’ victory over Minnesota. Haren (5-3) gave up three runs, 10 hits and one walk in six innings. ScottDowns got the Angels out of Haren’s two-on, no out jam in the seventh inning to help Los Angeles take two of three in the series. MarkTrumbo hit a 436-foot homer in the ninth, and JordanWalden got his 12th save. CarlPavano (2-5) gave up five runs — four earned — and 10 hits with three strikeouts for the Twins, who dropped to a major league-worst 17-34.

It was a day of firsts for the Toronto Blue Jays.

There was Aaron Hill’s first-inning grand slam, not only the first bases-loaded homer of his career but his first round-tripper of the season.

Then there was Edwin Encarnacion’s inaugural homer of 2011 in the ensuing at bat. And how about Jayson Nix’s first-inning single, the first hit for him in 22 at bats and the first by a Blue Jays third baseman since May 15?

All were welcome in a lopsided 13-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday before 18,325 fans at the Rogers Centre, but none more so than Hill’s blast.

Not only did it put the Jays ahead to stay and set the stage for an 18-hit Blue Jays attack, it provided some hope that maybe the personable second baseman is coming out of the hitting funk that has bogged him down the past two seasons.

After a banner season at the plate in 2009, Hill hit an embarrassing .205 last year. But at least he was still providing power with 26 homers.

This year, he’s been hitting a little better but has provided nothing in the way of power.

The Jays are hoping Sunday’s blast will turn him around.

Manager John Farrell, for one, is hoping it will help his second baseman at least relax a bit.

“I think more than anything, he’s been a little more relaxed the last couple, three weeks,” Farrell said. “I think he himself is starting to feel it come a little bit more routinely for him.”

Hill was obviously happy with the homer, but isn’t sure it will provide the push he needs to get back to the form he showed two seasons ago.

“Obviously, it’s still not there,” he said. “I’m trying not to look at results because obviously you want results quick and fast because you want to get going.”

Hill said that his ultimate goal isn’t hitting homers, but simply feeling good at the plate and getting his bat through the hitting zone with authority. He’s still struggling with that.

“It’s frustrating for me just because I know I’m a better player,” he said.

Hill feels he’s getting closer to that goal, but needs to be more consistent.

He said in order to get back to where he was in 2009, when he hit 36 homers and drove in 108 runs, he has to concentrate on hitting line drives.

“I never viewed myself as a home run hitter and I’m still not going to,” he said.

One guy who has been viewed as a home run hitter is Encarnacion, so getting that monkey off his back should help add another hot bat to the Jays lineup.

Nix’s monumental hit, his first of two on the day, should at least relieve some of the pressure the team’s collection of third basemen have been facing. Farrell says he wasn’t losing sleep over it.

“For me, it was just a matter of time,” he said. “Before Jayson went on the DL he was having good at bats, he was contributing offensively and it’s taken a little time to get going since his return.”

The Jays got another solid outing from ace Ricky Romero, who held the White Sox to two runs and six hits in seven innings despite being “as bad as I could be” in the bullpen.

Considering the way the Jays hit, he didn’t need to be that good.

Corey Patterson completed a nine-hit weekend with four hits including his second homer in two days. He also drove in three runs.

Encarnacion, who came into the game hitting .236, added three hits.

On a day when slugger Jose Bautista managed only one hit, the explosion from the rest of the lineup was more than welcome.

TORONTO (AP) — Aaron Hill hit his first career grand slam, Corey Patterson added a two-run shot and the Toronto Blue Jays routed the Chicago White Sox 13-4 on Sunday.

Patterson went 4 for 5 with three RBIs and has nine hits in his past two games.

Edwin Encarnacion also went deep as Toronto pounded out a season-high 18 hits.

The Blue Jays have won 22 of their past 27 meetings with the White Sox, including 15 of 18 at home. Chicago has not won the season series since 2006.

Ramon Castro hit a two-run homer and Carlos Quentin added a solo home run for the White Sox, who have lost three straight and six of 10 overall.

Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero (5-4) won for the third time in four starts, allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings. He walked two, struck out five and lowered his ERA to 2.88.

Casey Janssen worked a scoreless eighth inning and Shawn Camp surrendered Castro’s second homer in the ninth.

White Sox left-hander John Danks (0-8) allowed a season-high nine runs and nine hits in four innings, the shortest of his 11 outings this season. He became the first White Sox pitcher since Eddie Smith in 1942 to start the season 0-8; Smith lost his first 10 decisions that year.

Danks won his final two starts in 2010, ending his season with a home victory over Boston.

Trailing 1-0 on Quentin’s 13th homer in the top of the first, the Blue Jays exploded for six runs off Danks in the bottom half, matching their biggest inning of the season.

Jose Bautista hit an RBI single and Hill and Encarnacion added back-to-back homers, ending lengthy droughts. Hill’s homer was his first since Sept. 29 against New York. Encarnacion last homered at Minnesota on Oct. 3, the final day of the 2010 season.

Encarnacion was later shown on TV posing in the dugout with Romero’s bat, the same one he used to homer. He switched back to his own bat later in the game.

Paul Konerko had an RBI single in the third and Danks kept the Blue Jays off the board in the second and third, but left after giving up three more runs in the fourth. Yunel Escobar hit an RBI single and Patterson followed with a two-run shot to right, his fourth of the season and second in as many days. Patterson hit a walkoff homer in Saturday’s 14-inning win.

With Danks out, the White Sox turned to right-hander Lucas Harrell, promoted from Triple-A before the game. He gave up three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth.

Jayson Nix hit a two-run double and Patterson had an RBI single in the fifth, and Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia made it 13-2 with an RBI single in the sixth.

Batting sixth, slumping White Sox slugger Adam Dunn went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk, dropping his average to .181.

 

CBSSports.com wire reports
May 29, 2011

TORONTO — Aaron Hill and Edwin Encarnacion brought memorable ends to their lengthy home run droughts.

Hill hit his first career grand slam and Encarnacion homered using pitcher Ricky Romero’s bat as the Toronto Blue Jays routed the Chicago White Sox 13-4 on Sunday.

Corey Patterson added a two-run shot as Toronto pounded out a season-high 18 hits.

Hill’s homer was his first since Sept. 29 against New York.

“It’s just nice to get the first one out of the way,” he said. “Teammates give you a hard time about it, obviously joking, but internally you just want to get it out of the way so they all get quiet.”

Encarnacion followed Hill’s slam with his first homer since going deep at Minnesota last Oct. 3, the final day of the 2010 season. It was the third time this season the Blue Jays have hit back-to-back home runs.

Encarnacion homered using one of Romero’s new bats, delivered just last week for next month’s interleague games.

“I told him, messing around, ‘If you need a homer, man, you should just go grab my bat because it probably has a lot in it,’” Romero said. “Sure enough he goes out there and hits a home run with it. It was pretty funny.”

Encarnacion used Romero’s bat twice more, but broke it on a single to left in the fifth. He switched back to his own bat for his final two plate appearances.

So, would Hill consider taking a pitcher’s bat up to the plate?

“If it works like that every time, absolutely,” he said.

Both homers, along with Patterson’s two run drive in the fourth, came off Chicago’s John Danks (0-8). The left-hander allowed a season-high nine runs and nine hits in four innings, the shortest of his 11 outings this season. He became the first White Sox pitcher since Eddie Smith in 1942 to start the season 0-8; Smith lost his first 10 decisions that year.

“Today I was terrible,” Danks said. “There’s no other way of putting it.”

Danks won his final two starts in 2010, ending his season with a home victory over Boston, but has not won since.

Romero (5-4) won for the third time in four starts, allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings. He walked two, struck out five and lowered his ERA to 2.88.

Casey Janssen worked a scoreless eighth inning and Shawn Camp surrendered Castro’s second homer in the ninth.

Danks and major league home run leader Bautista had a testy exchange after the Blue Jays outfielder popped out in the fourth inning. Danks was upset at Bautista for running slowly to first and slamming his bat to the ground as he jogged up the line.

“I just told him to run the bases,” Danks said. “He was out there acting like a clown. He’s a good player. He’s had a great year and a half, no doubt, he’s been one of the best hitters in the league. He was out there acting like he’s Babe Ruth or something.

“I’ve had a pretty (crummy) year to this point but I have pride still,” Danks added. “I’m not going to let him sit out there and show me up like that.”

Asked about the incident, Bautista said his baserunning was not Danks’ concern.

“I was upset at missing a pitch,” Bautista said. “If he took it the wrong way, I’m sorry. I’m not here to make him feel good. It really doesn’t matter to me what he thought. What I’m not going to allow is when I’m running by him, him yelling at me again, so I yelled back at him.”

Patterson went 4 for 5 with three RBI and has nine hits in his past two games.

The Blue Jays have won 22 of their past 27 meetings with the White Sox, including 15 of 18 at home. Chicago has not won the season series since 2006.

“We won the first game here but it turned out to be another bad trip to Canada, a very bad trip to Canada,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “We continue to play real bad in this ballpark.”

Ramon Castro hit a two-run homer and Carlos Quentin added a solo home run for the White Sox, who have lost three straight and six of 10 overall.

Batting sixth, slumping White Sox slugger Adam Dunn went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk, dropping his average to .181.

Notes

• Nix’s bloop single to center in the first was the first hit by a Toronto third baseman since May 15, snapping an 0 for 42 skid.
• Harrell was promoted when the White Sox placed RHP Tony Pena (elbow tendinitis) on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 28.
• Toronto’s Juan Rivera extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games with a double in the second but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.
• White Sox INF Gordon Beckham, hit in the face by a throw from the outfield Friday, expects to return to the lineup Monday.

Blue Jays’ Aaron Hill, right, celebrates with teammates Jose Bautista and J.P Arencibia after hitting a grand slam off White Sox starter John Danks in the first inning. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

Aaron Hill and Edwin Encarnacion brought memorable ends to their lengthy home run droughts.

Hill hit his first career grand slam and Encarnacion homered using pitcher Ricky Romero’s bat as the Toronto Blue Jays routed the Chicago White Sox 13-4 on Sunday.

Corey Patterson added a two-run shot as Toronto pounded out a season-high 18 hits.

Hill’s homer was his first since Sept. 29 against New York.

“It’s just nice to get the first one out of the way,” he said. “Teammates give you a hard time about it, obviously joking, but internally you just want to get it out of the way so they all get quiet.”

Encarnacion followed Hill’s slam with his first homer since going deep at Minnesota last Oct. 3, the final day of the 2010 season. It was the third time this season the Blue Jays have hit back-to-back home runs.

Encarnacion homered using one of Romero’s new bats, delivered just last week for next month’s interleague games.

“I told him, messing around, ‘If you need a homer, man, you should just go grab my bat because it probably has a lot in it,”‘ Romero said. “Sure enough he goes out there and hits a home run with it. It was pretty funny.”

Encarnacion used Romero’s bat twice more, but broke it on a single to left in the fifth. He switched back to his own bat for his final two plate appearances.

So, would Hill consider taking a pitcher’s bat up to the plate?

“If it works like that every time, absolutely,” he said.

Both homers, along with Patterson’s two run drive in the fourth, came off Chicago’s John Danks (0-8). The left-hander allowed a season-high nine runs and nine hits in four innings, the shortest of his 11 outings this season. He became the first White Sox pitcher since Eddie Smith in 1942 to start the season 0-8; Smith lost his first 10 decisions that year.

“Today I was terrible,” Danks said. “There’s no other way of putting it.”

Danks won his final two starts in 2010, ending his season with a home victory over Boston, but has not won since.

Romero (5-4) won for the third time in four starts, allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings. He walked two, struck out five and lowered his ERA to 2.88.

Casey Janssen worked a scoreless eighth inning and Shawn Camp surrendered Castro’s second homer in the ninth.

Danks and major league home run leader Bautista had a testy exchange after the Blue Jays outfielder popped out in the fourth inning. Danks was upset at Bautista for running slowly to first and slamming his bat to the ground as he jogged up the line.

“I just told him to run the bases,” Danks said. “He was out there acting like a clown. He’s a good player. He’s had a great year and a half, no doubt, he’s been one of the best hitters in the league. He was out there acting like he’s Babe Ruth or something.

“I’ve had a pretty (crummy) year to this point but I have pride still,” Danks added. “I’m not going to let him sit out there and show me up like that.”

Asked about the incident, Bautista said his baserunning was not Danks’ concern.

“I was upset at missing a pitch,” Bautista said. “If he took it the wrong way, I’m sorry. I’m not here to make him feel good. It really doesn’t matter to me what he thought. What I’m not going to allow is when I’m running by him, him yelling at me again, so I yelled back at him.”

Patterson went 4 for 5 with three RBIs and has nine hits in his past two games.

The Blue Jays have won 22 of their past 27 meetings with the White Sox, including 15 of 18 at home. Chicago has not won the season series since 2006.

“We won the first game here but it turned out to be another bad trip to Canada, a very bad trip to Canada,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “We continue to play real bad in this ballpark.”

Ramon Castro hit a two-run homer and Carlos Quentin added a solo home run for the White Sox, who have lost three straight and six of 10 overall.

Batting sixth, slumping White Sox slugger Adam Dunn went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk, dropping his average to .181.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO — Back-to-back home runs ended a long drought for Aaron Hill and Edwin Encarnacion.

Hill hit his first homer of the season and first career grand slam before Encarnacion also hit his first homer, and the Blue Jays went on to beat the Chicago White Sox 13-4 on Sunday.

Encarnacion’s homer completed a six-run first inning for the Jays (27-26), who had 18 hits to win three of the four-game series.

“It’s taken a while,” Hill said. “It’s always nice. It relaxes you a bit to get one on the board and you keep going.”

Hill couldn’t remember hitting a grand slam in college, either. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “Obviously I’ve never done it before. To get the team rolling especially in the first inning, it’s always nice.”

Corey Patterson hit his fourth homer of the season for Toronto and had four hits and three RBIs. He had a career high five hits including the game-winning homer in the 14th inning on Saturday.

Carlos Quentin hit his 13th homer for Chicago (24-31) while Ramon Castro added his second of the season in the ninth inning.

Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero (5-4) has often lacked run support this season but took advantage of the hits, allowing six hits and two runs in seven innings on a day when he said he did not have his best stuff.

Romero contributed in another way — Encarnacion used one of the pitcher’s bats to hit his home run before breaking it on a fifth-inning single.

“I actually just got my bats in this week because we’re getting ready for interleague play,” Romero said, “And I told (Encarnacion) messing around, if you need a home run just go grab my bat because it probably has a lot in it.

“Sure enough, he comes out of the dugout and he’s kind of flashing the bat in front of me and I said, ‘oh you are going to use it?’ And sure enough he goes out there and hits a home run with it.”

Romero has a couple of other bats left from the shipment and he told Encarnacion he is welcome to use one of them. “Just don’t break it,” he said.

Romero said his warm-up in the bullpen did not go well. He could not get his arm angle where he wanted it.

“But I battled and I let them put the ball in play and let the defence work,” he said. “Credit to our offence they did a tremendous job today. I started feeling a lot better in the last two or three innings. Mechanically I felt the ball was starting to come out of my hand a little better.”

The support was there in the field as well. Third baseman Jayson Nix made a diving catch in the first inning and centre-fielder Rajai Davis made a difficult catch on a liner at the warning track in the second and his momentum carried him into the wall.

Left-hander John Danks (0-8) allowed nine hits and nine runs in four innings on 96 pitches and before he was done exchanged words with Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista in the fourth inning after he had popped out to shortstop. He did not like the way Bautista acted when he popped up on the 3-2 pitch.

“I just told him to run the bases,” Danks said. “He was out there acting like a … clown. I told him to run the bases. He’s a good player. He’s had a great year and a half, no doubt, he’s been one of the best hitters in the league. He was out there acting like he’s Babe Ruth or something. … I just told him to run the bases and quit acting like a clown.

“That’s just the way I feel. I have pride. I really do. I’ve had a pretty crappy year to this point but I have pride still and I’m not going to let him sit out there and show me up like that.”

Bautista replied: “That should not be his concern. I was upset with missing a pitch at myself. If he took it the wrong way, I’m sorry. I’m not here to make him feel good.

“It really doesn’t matter to me what he thought. What I’m not going to allow when I’m running by him is him yelling at me. So I yelled back at him.”

Quentin’s homer came in the top of the first before the Blue Jays went to work in the bottom of the inning.

It didn’t take long for the Blue Jays to tie the game when their first three batters — Yunel Escobar, Patterson and Bautista — singled. With one out, J.P. Arencibia walked to load the bases for Hill, who homered to left on a 1-1 fastball.

Encarnacion hit a 2-2 change-up to left to complete the scoring in the six-run inning.

Paul Konerko’s single in the third scored Juan Pierre to cut Toronto’s lead to 6-2.

But the Blue Jays came back with three in the fourth, two on Patterson’s fourth homer.

Escobar knocked in the first run of the fourth with a single. It scored Davis, who was hit by a pitch, took second on a groundout and stole third.

Nix, who ended a 0-for-22 drought with a first-inning single, doubled home two runs in the fifth against right-hander Lucas Harrell.

Patterson singled home Nix to make the score 12-2 before Arencibia singled in a run in the sixth to end Toronto’s scoring.

Notes: Attendance at Rogers Centre was 18,325. …Left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes (0-4, 4.70 earned-run average) will try to avoid a major-league record 29th consecutive winless start on Monday when he faces Cleveland’s Fausto Carmona (3-5, 4.73 ERA) in the opener of a three-game series. … Escobar’s first-inning single gave him a 10-game hit streak and Juan Rivera’s second-inning double gave him an 11-game hit streak, but he was later thrown out trying for a triple. … With Toronto leading 12-2 in the sixth, rookie Eric Thames took over from Bautista in right field. … Mike McCoy replaced Escobar at shortstop in the seventh.

Aaron Hill hits first grand slam, Jays beat White Sox 13-4

The Canadian Press

Date: Sunday May. 29, 2011 4:01 PM ET

 

TORONTO – Aaron Hill hit his first career grand slam, Corey Patterson added a two-run shot and the Toronto Blue Jays routed the Chicago White Sox 13-4 on Sunday.

Patterson went 4 for 5 with three RBIs and has nine hits in his past two games.

Edwin Encarnacion also went deep as Toronto pounded out a season-high 18 hits.

The Blue Jays have won 22 of their past 27 meetings with the White Sox, including 15 of 18 at home. Chicago has not won the season series since 2006.

Ramon Castro hit a two-run homer and Carlos Quentin added a solo home run for the White Sox, who have lost three straight and six of 10 overall.

Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero (5-4) won for the third time in four starts, allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings. He walked two, struck out five and lowered his ERA to 2.88.

Casey Janssen worked a scoreless eighth inning and Shawn Camp surrendered Castro’s second homer in the ninth.

White Sox left-hander John Danks (0-8) allowed a season-high nine runs and nine hits in four innings, the shortest of his 11 outings this season. He became the first White Sox pitcher since Eddie Smith in 1942 to start the season 0-8; Smith lost his first 10 decisions that year.

Danks won his final two starts in 2010, ending his season with a home victory over Boston.

Trailing 1-0 on Quentin’s 13th homer in the top of the first, the Blue Jays exploded for six runs off Danks in the bottom half, matching their biggest inning of the season.

Jose Bautista hit an RBI single and Hill and Encarnacion added back-to-back homers, ending lengthy droughts. Hill’s homer was his first since Sept. 29 against New York. Encarnacion last homered at Minnesota on Oct. 3, the final day of the 2010 season.

Encarnacion was later shown on TV posing in the dugout with Romero’s bat, the same one he used to homer. He switched back to his own bat later in the game.

Paul Konerko had an RBI single in the third and Danks kept the Blue Jays off the board in the second and third, but left after giving up three more runs in the fourth. Yunel Escobar hit an RBI single and Patterson followed with a two-run shot to right, his fourth of the season and second in as many days. Patterson hit a walkoff homer in Saturday’s 14-inning win.

With Danks out, the White Sox turned to right-hander Lucas Harrell, promoted from Triple-A before the game. He gave up three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth.

Jayson Nix hit a two-run double and Patterson had an RBI single in the fifth, and Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia made it 13-2 with an RBI single in the sixth.

Batting sixth, slumping White Sox slugger Adam Dunn went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk, dropping his average to .181.

NOTES: Nix’s bloop single to center in the first was the first hit by a Toronto third baseman since May 15, snapping an 0 for 42 skid. … Harrell was promoted when the White Sox placed RHP Tony Pena (elbow tendinitis) on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 28. … Toronto’s Juan Rivera extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games with a double in the second but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.

The Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees may be better than the Toronto Blue Jays, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t the most nervous when you see the Jays coming up on your schedule.

With their incredibly explosive offense, Toronto is always capable of pulling off high-scoring, comeback victories, as they did Saturday night against the White Sox in 14 innings.

Nick Cafardo joined Randy Scott on Red Sox First Pitch to discuss Toronto. See what he had to say in the video above.

TORONTO – Kyle Drabek came away with a no-decision Friday, but he was happy to help the Toronto Blue Jays get a much-needed win.

The right-hander tossed a season-high 121 pitches in going 6 2-3 innings but didn’t figure into the decision as Toronto beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2 to snap a three-game skid.

“When situations come up and I get frustrated it’s getting a lot easier for me to be able to get back on the mound, forget about what happened and go after the hitter,” said Drabek, who allowed three hits, five walks and two runs while striking out four.

Although his record stayed at 3-3, Drabek lowered his earned-run average to 4.16.

Drabek struck out Alexei Ramirez for what should have been the third out of the seventh inning, but a wild pitch allowed the batter to reach first.

Casey Janssen (2-0) came in to end the inning and picked up the win when Yunel Escobar’s double snapped 2-2 tie in the bottom of the seventh.

Jon Rauch pitched the ninth to pick up his sixth save of the season even though Juan Pierre beat out an infield single and took second on a wild pitch and third on a passed ball.

“We’ve been on the threshold of a couple of wins of late and yet have not finished them off,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. “So the fact tonight where we scored a couple of runs late, manufactured a couple of runs, caught a break on the basepaths and a win is a good thing here tonight. We needed this one tonight for sure.”

Drabek’s ability to limit the damage when he gets in a jam is a positive sign for a rookie, Farrell added.

“That’s something that you can’t teach,” he said, “That is the competiveness and the ability to fight through a difficult spot whether it’s self-created or otherwise.

“To me it’s the trademark of a winner. He’s got the ability to win and he’s got the tenacity to pitch through tight spots and avoiding a crooked number. The greatest teacher we have is what goes on between the lines at the big-league level.”

White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle (4-4) allowed nine hits, two walks and three runs while striking out three to take the loss. He has an earned-run average of 2.73 against the Blue Jays in 15 career outings.

Escobar’s run-scoring double in the bottom of the seventh came as a result of some sloppy Chicago defence. Centre-fielder Alex Rios and right-fielder Quentin bumped as they retrieved the ball, allowing Jayson Nix to score from first.

After Janssen finished off the seventh, he retired the first two batters in the eighth.

But Rios singled and Adam Dunn walked for the fourth time in the game. Shawn Camp replaced Janssen and ended the inning on a groundball by Omar Vizquel that forced Dunn at second.

The Blue Jays tacked on a run against Tony Pena in the eighth on singles by J.P. Arencibia, Rajai Davis and Jose Molina.

Toronto almost botched a double steal when Molina ran to second with his head down. Davis didn’t start to leave second until Molina was almost at the base, but the speedy outfielder made it safely to third. Pena worked out of the inning without another run.

“I saw Rajai go and I tried to follow it,” Molina said. “He stopped. I wasn’t expecting that. But because of his speed we both made it and it was a good play.”

Juan Rivera’s first-inning double scored Escobar to give Toronto (25-26) a 1-0 lead.

Ramirez tied the game 1-1 with a third-inning sacrifice fly — on a nice catch by left-fielder Corey Patterson — that followed Pierre’s one-out triple.

The Blue Jays regained the lead in the fourth on Aaron Hill’s single and Davis’ triple.

Molina failed to deliver Davis from third base on his grounder to first and after Nix walked, the Blue Jays tried a squeeze play. Escobar failed to put down the bunt and Davis was tagged out at home. Escobar grounded out to end the inning.

Drabek walked Quentin with the bases loaded in the fifth to allow Chicago (24-29) to tie game 2-2. Dunn led off the fifth with a walk, Vizquel singled, Dallas McPherson struck out, and Pierre singled to fill the bases. Drabek induced a shallow fly from Ramirez that kept Dunn at third.

Drabek then fell behind 3-0 on Quentin and fought back to 3-2 in the count before allowing the run-scoring walk. Drabek finished the inning on a grounder to short by Paul Konerko.

“You don’t want to give a free run and walk someone in,” Drabek said. “And I was unable to make the pitch at the right time. You know, after he scored (Arencibia) told me just to keep going and I calmed myself down and tried to go after the next batter.”

Notes: White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham left the game in the bottom of the third after the throw from the outfield bounced and hit him in the face on Rivera’s second double of the game. His left eye was swollen and he was to have X-rays. … Attendance at Rogers Centre was 16,668. … Blue Jays infielder Edwin Encarnacion did not start Friday’s game because of a left big toe injury. He fouled a ball off the toe during a game in New York and again in batting practice before Thursday’s game against Chicago. The toe nail might have to be drilled to alleviate the build up of blood. …. Toronto infielder John McDonald was put on the 15-day disabled list after the game with a right hamstring strain, a nagging problem for a while that intensified during Thursday’s 3 -1 loss to Chicago. Infielder Mike McCoy was called up from triple-A Las Vegas … Right-hander Carlos Villanueva (2-0, 2.53 earned-run average) will get his second start as a Blue Jay on Saturday against right-hander Edwin Jackson (4-5, 4.26 ERA).

‘,
container = $(‘#drop-panel-container’),
contents = $(container).html();

if (isIE8) {

$(container).replaceWith(f+contents+b)

}

}

function dropPanelSetUp(data) {
/* buttons should be a dataobject of strings representing IDs
the hide and show functions are expecting IDs so passing a class will result in a
failure.

click as the action is assumed for now

the data object should look like this:

{ masterlistener:(string[dom id]),
panel:(string[dom id]),
eventgroup1:{ button:(string[dom id]),
content:(string[dom id]),
offset:{x:(int),y:(int)},
on_state_class: ”(string)
},
eventgroup2:{ button:(string[dom id]),
content:(string[dom id]),
offset:{x:(int),y:(int)},
on_state_class: ”(string)
} … etc
}

The drop panel nodes should be placed so they share the same offset parent as the buttons that activate it.

NOTE: IE8 Got-chya: the ID for the panel is hard coded into the IE8 rouned corners code.
If you have changed the ID for the drop panel and are having trouble with IE8
change the ID in the template string in this function: ie8DropPanel()

*/

var speed = 300,
panel = $(‘#’+data.panel),
buttons = [];

for (var i=1,eg; eg=data[('eventgroup'+i)]; i++) {

var bp = $(‘#’+eg.button).position(), //button position
ph = $(‘#’+eg.button).height(), //button height
panelPos = [bp.top+ph, bp.left, eg.offset];
on_state_class = eg.on_state_class;

buttons.push([$('#'+eg.button),$('#'+eg.content),panelPos,eg.button,on_state_class]);

}

$(‘#’+data.masterlistener).bind(‘click’,{speed:speed,panel:panel,buttons:buttons},function(event){

var org = event.target,
speed = event.data.speed,
panel = event.data.panel,
buttons = event.data.buttons,
panel_open = isPanelOpen(panel);

for (var i=buttons.length-1, b; b=buttons[i]; i–) {
/*
* b[0] = button DOM object
* b[1] = content DOM object
* b[2] = the display co-ord object:
* [0] = top (int)
* [1] = left (int)
* [2] = offset object
* {x,y}(int,int)
* b[3] = button ID (string)
* b[4] = button ‘on’ class
*/

var button_id = b[3],
same_content = isSameContent(panel,b[1]);

if ( $(org).attr(‘id’) === button_id || $(org).parents(‘#’+button_id).attr(‘id’)){

if(!same_content) {

hideAllContent(buttons);
movePanel(panel,b[2]);

if (panel_open) {

showContent(b[1],b[0],b[4]);

} else {

showContent(b[1],b[0],b[4]);
showPanel(panel,speed);

}

} else {

hidePanel(panel,speed,b[4]);

}

}

}

function isPanelOpen(panel) {

return ($(panel).css(‘display’).toLowerCase() === ‘block’);
}

function isSameContent (panel,content) {

return ($(content, panel).css(‘display’).toLowerCase() === ‘block’);

}

function movePanel(panel,b) {
// b[0] top, b[1] left, b[2] {x,y}

$(panel).css({
‘top’: (b[0] + b[2].x)
});
$(panel).css({
‘left’: (b[1] + b[2].y)
});

}

function showPanel(panel,speed) {

$(panel).slideDown(speed);
}

function hidePanel(panel,speed) {

$(panel).slideUp(speed, function() {hideAllContent(buttons);});

}

function showContent(content, button, btn_class) {
$(content).show();
$(button).addClass(btn_class);
}

function hideContent(content) {

$(content).hide();

}

function hideAllContent(buttons) {

for (var i = buttons.length-1, b; b=buttons[i]; i–) {
$(b[1]).hide();
$(b[0]).removeClass(b[4]);
}

}

})

}

return {

ieRoundedCorners:ieRoundedCorners,
ie8DropPanel:ie8DropPanel,
dropPanelSetUp:dropPanelSetUp
}

})();

var headerNavication = (function($,cw) {

var nav_item_list = $(‘.cw-header .main-nav ul.main > li’),
channel_id_list = ”,
channel,
sub_channel;

var findChannel = function () {

var winloc = isIE ? document.URL.split(‘/’) : document.documentURI.split(‘/’) ,
channel_id = winloc[3],
sub_chanel_id = winloc.length > 5 ? ‘/’+winloc[4]+’/’ : ”,
reg_sub_find_id = new RegExp(sub_chanel_id,’ig’),
reg_removed_id = /^nav-/i;

for (var i=nav_item_list.length-1,n; n=nav_item_list[i]; i–) {

if ( channel_id === $(n).children(‘a’).attr(‘id’).replace(reg_removed_id,”) ) {
var list = $(n).children(‘ul’).children(‘li’);

if (sub_chanel_id.length > 0) {

for (var j=list.length-1,l; l=list[j]; j–) {

if (reg_sub_find_id.test($(l).children(‘a’).attr(‘href’))) {
break;
} else {
l = false;
}

}

}

break;

}

}

findChannel = function () {
return [n,l];
}

return [n,l];

}

var init = (function() {
channel = findChannel()[0] || nav_item_list[0];
sub_channel = findChannel()[1];

if (sub_channel) {
highlightSubChannel();
}

clearNav();

if(isIE) {

cw.ieRoundedCorners();

if(isIE8) {
cw.ie8DropPanel();
}
}

if ($(‘#handle-header’).attr(‘id’)) {
cw.dropPanelSetUp({
masterlistener: ‘handle-header’,
panel: (‘drop-panel-container’),
eventgroup1: {
button: ‘btn-newspapers’,
content: ‘panel-newspapers’,
offset: {
x: 5,
y: 0
},
on_state_class: ‘newspapers-dropdown-on’
},
eventgroup2: {
button: ‘btn-networks’,
content: ‘panel-networks’,
offset: {
x: 5,
y: 0
},
on_state_class: ‘networks-dropdown-on’
}
});
}

//need to check state of search radio buttons since firefox doesn’t reset to the default checked radio button
if($(‘.cw-header #radio-btn-yp:checked’).attr(‘id’) != null){
$(‘.cw-header #header-search-form’).attr(‘action’,'http://canadacom.yellowpages.ca/search/’);
$(‘.cw-header #header-search-string’).attr(‘name’,'what’);
$(‘.cw-header #radio-btn-yp’).siblings(‘label’).removeClass(‘selected’);
$(‘.cw-header #radio-btn-yp’).next().addClass(‘selected’);
}

eventSetUp();

}())

function highlightSubChannel() {

$(sub_channel).addClass(‘sub-nav-highlight’);

}

function clearNav() {

clearTabs();
$(channel).children(‘ul’).show();
$(channel).css(‘background-position’, ‘bottom right’);

}

function eventSetUp() {

$(‘.cw-header .main-nav ‘).bind(‘mouseleave’, function(event){

if (isIE) {

if ($(event.relatedTarget).parents(‘.main-nav’).length 0)?”” + value.substring(0,pos) + “” + value.substring(pos, term.length) + “” + value.substring(pos + term.length) + ““:value.substring(0, term.length) + “” + value.substring(pos + term.length) + ““;
},
scroll: false,
selectFirst: false
});
});