CHICAGO (AP) – Brandon Morrow finished the season on a strong note and joined an elite group of Toronto Blue Jays’ pitchers from the past.

Morrow became the fourth pitcher in Toronto history to record 200 strikeouts in a season and a ninth-inning rally propelled the Blue Jays over the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Wednesday in the season finale.

The 27-year-old right-hander allowed two runs on five hits over six innings of work. He walked five and struck out seven. His strikeout of Tyler Flowers in the fifth inning as No. 200 and he finished the season with 203, fanning four of his last five batters.

“It’s something I was always looking to, especially this last game, I knew I needed four,” said Morrow, who started the day with 196 strikeouts. “That kind of led to some of the walks early on in the game. I settled myself down and I ended up getting it and a few more. It was a good day.”

Morrow joined Roy Halladay (three times), Rogers Clemens (twice) and A.J. Burnett as the only pitchers in Blue Jays history to reach the 200-strikeout plateau.

“Any time you strike out 200 guys in a season, it demonstrates you’ve got tremendous stuff,” said Blue Jays manager John Farrell, a former major league pitcher himself.

“He learned a lot about himself this year, and we’re going to need him moving forward to be that pitcher he’s shown the last three starts.”

Morrow, who didn’t factor in the decision, brought a scoreless streak of 15 innings into the game, but a Gordon Beckham solo homer in the fourth inning halted that streak at 18 2-3 innings.

He posted a 0.86 earned run average over his last three starts – 21 innings pitched – to rebound from a five-start stretch in which Morrow posted a 9.47 ERA. He finished 11-11.

“I kept talking about finishing strong,” he said. “These last three outings, it’s great to get two wins and three quality starts to finish the year.”

Trailing 2-1 in the ninth inning, the Blue Jays benefited from a wild outing from Chris Sale (2-2), who walked three straight hitters with runners on second and third to force in the tying and go-ahead runs.

The win brought Toronto back up to .500 to finish the season, its first with Farrell at the helm.

Kelly Johnson doubled to start the ninth with Toronto trailing 2-1 and moved to third on David Cooper’s single. Colby Rasmus sacrificed Cooper to second before J.P. Arencibia was walked intentionally to load the bases. Sale (2-2) then walked Mark Teahen and Adam Loewen back-to-back, putting the Blue Jays ahead.

“If you hadn’t seen the first 161 games of the year, you could really look at this game and epitomize or wrap up our entire season,” Farrell said.

“We finished an even .500, but it was the character this team has demonstrated all year long. We benefited from some wildness in the ninth inning, and it was enough to hold on.”

NOTES: Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, who hit 43 homers and could finish as the major league home run league champion in back-to-back seasons, wasn’t shy when asked who should be the AL MVP. “If I couldn’t vote for myself, then Miguel Cabrera,” he said of the Tigers star.” But if he could vote for himself, would he? “Wouldn’t you?” Bautista said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Chris Sale returns to the mound after walking in the go-ahead run, Toronto’s David Cooper, left, during the ninth inning of the season finale for both clubs. (Charles Rex Abrogast/Associated Press)

Brandon Morrow finished the season on a strong note and joined an elite group of Toronto Blue Jays’ pitchers from the past.

Morrow became the fourth pitcher in Toronto history to record 200 strikeouts in a season and a ninth-inning rally propelled the Blue Jays over the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Wednesday in the season finale.

The 27-year-old right-hander allowed two runs on five hits over six innings of work. He walked five and struck out seven. His strikeout of Tyler Flowers in the fifth inning as No. 200 and he finished the season with 203, fanning four of his last five batters.

“It’s something I was always looking to, especially this last game, I knew I needed four,” said Morrow, who started the day with 196 strikeouts. “That kind of led to some of the walks early on in the game. I settled myself down and I ended up getting it and a few more. It was a good day.”

Morrow joined Roy Halladay (three times), Rogers Clemens (twice) and A.J. Burnett as the only pitchers in Blue Jays history to reach the 200-strikeout plateau.

“Any time you strike out 200 guys in a season, it demonstrates you’ve got tremendous stuff,” said Blue Jays manager John Farrell, a former major league pitcher himself.

“He learned a lot about himself this year, and we’re going to need him moving forward to be that pitcher he’s shown the last three starts.”

Morrow, who didn’t factor in the decision, brought a scoreless streak of 15 innings into the game, but a Gordon Beckham solo homer in the fourth inning halted that streak at 18 2/3 innings.

He posted a 0.86 earned run average over his last three starts – 21 innings pitched — to rebound from a five-start stretch in which Morrow posted a 9.47 ERA. He finished 11-11.

“I kept talking about finishing strong,” he said. “These last three outings, it’s great to get two wins and three quality starts to finish the year.”

Trailing 2-1 in the ninth inning, the Blue Jays benefited from a wild outing from Chris Sale (2-2), who walked three straight hitters with runners on second and third to force in the tying and go-ahead runs.

The win brought Toronto back up to .500 to finish the season, its first with Farrell at the helm.

Kelly Johnson doubled to start the ninth with Toronto trailing 2-1 and moved to third on David Cooper’s single. Colby Rasmus sacrificed Cooper to second before J.P. Arencibia was walked intentionally to load the bases. Sale (2-2) then walked Mark Teahen and Adam Loewen back-to-back, putting the Blue Jays ahead.

“If you hadn’t seen the first 161 games of the year, you could really look at this game and epitomize or wrap up our entire season,” Farrell said.

“We finished an even .500, but it was the character this team has demonstrated all year long. We benefited from some wildness in the ninth inning, and it was enough to hold on.”

TORONTO — Adam Loewen picked a fine time to collect his first souvenir as a major-league hitter.

On his first day in the big leagues as an outfielder, the former pitcher whacked a sharp single to help spark an eighth-inning uprising that lifted the Toronto Blue Jays to an 11-10 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Boston pitcher Daniel Bard hit a batter and gave up Loewen’s first major-league hit to put runners at the corners. Three walks later, Toronto pulled into an 8-8 tie. Edwin Encarnacion followed with a three-run double off Matt Albers.

The Red Sox scored two in the ninth off Frank Francisco, who staggered to his 13th save.

“I grew up watching the Blue Jays and wanting to play for the Blue Jays,” Loewen said. “I think any Canadian kid back at home dreams the same thing, and for it to actually come true is an unbelievable feeling.”

A native of Surrey, B.C., Loewen was a left-handed pitcher for Baltimore before injuries ended that phase of his career in 2008. He spent three seasons in the minors making a comeback as an outfielder before his callup from Triple-A on Wednesday.

Loewen went 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. He played right field while Jose Bautista served as the designated hitter.

The Jays’ late surge took starting pitcher Brandon Morrow off the hook after an ugly outing in which he gave up eight runs in 4 1/3 innings.

It also deprived Tim Wakefield of his 200th career victory in his seventh try. Wakefield left with an 8-5 lead after five innings.

Encarnacion matched his career high with five RBIs. J.P. Arencibia hit his 21st home run, setting a franchise record for a catcher.

Loewen also made two running catches in right field. He said he was nervous as game time approached, but quickly calmed down in the first inning.

“The hit was probably the biggest thrill for me, just to get it out of the way, because once that’s over with I can kind of relax and not worry about it,” he said. “The best thing for us is that we won the game.”

The game ended when catcher Jose Molina, who entered the game in the ninth, threw out pinch-runner Mike Aviles trying to steal second. Aviles represented the tying run, prompting Jays manager John Farrell to call the move “somewhat uncharacteristic of the Red Sox.”

Farrell praised his hitters for their “relentless approach,” especially as they battled Bard in the eighth. He saved his highest praise for the plate discipline of Eric Thames, a notorious free swinger who was down 0-2 before drawing a bases-loaded walk.

“To me, that’s a huge step in his own personal growth,” Farrell said. “He has battled his own aggressiveness at times.”

A year ago, the Jays shut down Morrow early, protecting his prized right arm and allowing him to finish his first season as a starter on a high note.

Over his final four starts, he had posted a 3.21 ERA with 44 strikeouts. He fanned 17 in one of those games and 12 in another.

Morrow appeared ready to take another critical step forward this year. Some scouts believed he might eventually supplant Ricky Romero as Toronto’s ace.

Few have advanced that thesis lately. As the season winds down, Morrow is reeling rather than rolling.

He gave up eight hits and as many runs in 4 1/3 innings Wednesday night. Over his past nine starts, Morrow is 2-6 with a 6.66 ERA. He has surrendered 13 homers in that stretch.

“It’s been a really frustrating stretch of starts,” Morrow said.

His main problem was locating his fastball on the first-base side of the plate, he said.

Tired? “Not at all,” Morrow replied. “I feel good.”

Before the game, Farrell said the Jays have no plans to shut down Morrow early after confining him to 146 innings last season.

“We’d like to get him to 180-plus [innings], just to continue to push back his ceiling and his workload, see how he maintains that and physically how he comes through that,” Farrell said.

Morrow has averaged just under six innings per start, yet has also averaged more than 100 pitches. He tends to make critical errors on fastball location, as he did when Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz tagged him for homers worth a total of four runs.

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Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester will be facing Toronto for the fifth time this season. (Elise Amendola/Associated Press)

The Toronto Blue Jays will look to build off their exciting Labour Day win on Tuesday night against familiar adversary Jon Lester.

Toronto helped drop Boston 2 ½ games back of New York in the AL East with an 11-inning win on Monday. Brett Lawrie homered with two outs in the 11th off Dan Wheeler after each team stranded 10 base runners.

After fellow rookie Henderson Alvarez and four relievers combined for the shutout Monday, the Blue Jays will turn to another first-year pitcher in Luis Perez (3-2, 3.77 earned-run average).

The left-hander allowed five runs and issued two homers over five innings in his third career start Thursday, not factoring in the decision of an 8-6 win over Baltimore.

Perez has also made 29 relief appearances including six against the Red Sox, giving up seven runs and 11 hits in 8 1/3 innings. Kevin Youkilis is 2-for-3 with a homer and a double off him.

Lester will try to help the suddenly faltering Red Sox avoid a fifth loss in six games.

Lester (14-6, 3.05 ERA) won’t need a lot of run support if he continues to pitch the way he has lately. The left-hander has won his last three decisions and has a 1.50 ERA over his last four starts, giving up one earned run in each.

He needed 114 pitches to get through five innings against the Yankees on Thursday, surrendering seven hits and three walks but striking out six and leaving with a one-run lead. However, he wound up without a decision in Boston’s 4-2 defeat.

Lester, who needs one victory for his fourth straight 15-win season, is 9-2 with a 2.84 ERA on the road this season. He’ll be facing Toronto for the fifth time this season, having allowed just seven runs in 23 innings against Toronto this year while going 2-0.

Toronto slugger Jose Bautista went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Monday’s series opener, but is 3-for-10 with two homers and a double against Lester this year.

Lester will also want to pitch carefully to Lawrie, whose game-winning homer was his eighth in 30 games since being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas. The rookie third baseman is batting .318 with 21 runs batted in.

While the rookie is red hot, Boston slugger Adrian Gonzalez is in a cool phase. Gonzalez is 5-for-28 (.179) with 12 strikeouts over his last eight games, and Boston has totaled two runs or fewer in four of its last five losses.

The four-game series continues Wednesday, when the expected pitching matchup will see Toronto’s struggling Brandon Morrow up against veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who’ll be vying for his 200th career win.

Report an error

Ricky Romero takes aim at his seventh straight winning decision this afternoon when the Toronto Blue Jays continue their three-game series against the New York Yankees.

Romero picked up another win on Monday against Tampa Bay, as he allowed three runs and six hits in six innings to improve to 13-9 to go along with a 2.84 earned run average.

“When everything’s working it’s easy to get through a game and go eight, nine innings,” Romero said. “It’s these outings that make you mentally strong and you’re like, ‘You know what, I grinded and I did everything I could and I made it through six.’”

Romero is 6-0 with a 2.11 ERA in his past eight starts, all of which have resulted in victories for Toronto. The native of California has eight consecutive quality starts and 21 in 27 outings this season.

His last loss, though, came at the hands of the Yankees back on July 16. He is 3-3 lifetime against them with a 4.80 ERA.

New York, meanwhile, will counter with right hander Bartolo Colon, who has lost his last three starts and is winless in his past five outings. Colon pitched well in Baltimore on Sunday, but suffered the loss, as he allowed two runs and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings. He also struck out four without walking a batter. He is 8-9 on the year with a 3.63 ERA.

“It’s real encouraging for us,” manager Joe Girardi said. “He had struggled a little bit [recently]; he hadn’t been as sharp. I thought he was real sharp today. I think that maybe the extra rest helped him recharge it a little bit and got him going.”

Colon lost to the Blue Jays the last time he faced them and is 9-5 in 21 starts against them with a 4.02 ERA.

New York drew first blood in this set on Friday, as Ivan Nova shook off a pair of first-inning runs and held the Blue Jays scoreless over the next six frames and Brett Gardner’s two-run homer and Robinson Cano’s RBI single proved to be enough in the Yanks’ 3-2 victory.

Nova (15-4) allowed just three hits and two walks en route to his eighth straight winning start and 11th consecutive positive decision.

“I know what I can do. I have to stay hungry and keep winning games,” said Nova.

The Yankees have won five of their last six and jumped over the Red Sox for AL East supremacy, though it’s a tenuous half-game advantage over Boston.

Brandon Morrow (9-10) gave up three runs on four hits over a six-inning start for Toronto, which came into the three-game series having won three of four.

The Yankees are 8-5 versus Toronto this season, including wins in five of the seven match-ups in the Bronx.

 

David Price struck out a franchise-record 14 in seven dominant innings, Desmond Jennings hit a pair of solo home runs and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 12-0 on Sunday.

Price (12-11) broke the team mark for strikeouts shared by Scott Kazmir and James Shields.

Price allowed only three singles and walked two. His first seven outs all came by a strikeout, with two hits mixed in during that span.

Rays pitchers set a team mark by fanning 18 batters overall. Reliever Brandon Gomes struck out two in 1 1-3 innings and Cesar Ramos struck out two to end it.

Jennings homered on the first pitch of the game and got a career-high four hits. He drove in three runs, scored three, drew a walk and also stole a base from the leadoff spot.

Sean Rodriguez added a two-run homer and Matt Joyce doubled twice during a six-run ninth as the Rays improved to an AL-best 20-9 since July 28.

The Blue Jays lost their fourth straight. They finished with five hits.

Price quickly matched his career high, striking out 12 through five innings. The left-hander didn’t fan anyone in the sixth, but finished his outing with two more strikeouts in the seventh, matching and then passing Kazmir (2007) and Shields (2011) for the Rays’ record.

Price improved to 9-1 with a 1.99 ERA in 11 career starts against Toronto.

Price didn’t give his defense much to do in the first three innings. He did allow a pair of baserunners over that span: Mike McCoy led off the first with a walk and Jose Molina hit a two-out single in the second. Neither runner advanced.

McCoy was the first batter to make an out on a batted ball when he grounded to second in the third. McCoy, who walked again in the sixth, was the only Blue Jays batter not to strike out against Price.

Toronto’s 18 strikeouts were a season-high, two more they had in a 3-1 road loss to the Los Angeles Angels on April 10. The franchise record is 19, set twice previously, both times in extra-inning games.

Jennings put Tampa Bay ahead right away, connecting against Brandon Morrow (9-9) for the first leadoff home run of his career.

After John Jaso’s RBI double in the second scored B.J. Upton, Rodriguez hit a two-run shot into the second deck in left. Jennings made it back-to-back homers when he followed with another drive to left, his first multihomer game.

Morrow (9-9) allowed five runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander has given up five homers in his past 10 innings. He lost for the fourth time in five starts.

NOTES: Blue Jays manager John Farrell (pneumonia) missed his third straight game, with bench coach Don Wakamatsu continuing to run the team. … Rays RHP Kyle Farnsworth (elbow) was available after missing the previous four games. … Toronto 1B Adam Lind, mired in a 3-for-21 slump, was held out of the starting lineup. … Blue Jays RHP Jon Rauch (appendectomy) threw a bullpen session before the game, his second in three days. … Toronto OF Rajai Davis (torn left hamstring) has begun jogging and taking batting practice at the team’s minor league complex in Florida and could return before the end of the season. … Tampa Bay RHP Wade Davis (8-7) faces Blue Jays LHP Ricky Romero (12-9) in Monday’s series finale.

“I was throwing strikes. I was using all my pitches,” Chen said. “I had really good command of my curveball, my cutter and my changeup. Today is one of those days where everything was working in and out and I was changing speeds very well.”

Chen (9-5) struck out nine and improved to 4-1 with a 3.68 ERA in five August starts this year. He is 18-9 in 61 career August games, his most wins in any month.

“Everything was firing on all cylinders for him,” Royals infielder Mike Moustakas said. “When ‘Skip’ came out there and took him out he said it’s the best he’s seen Bruce pitch in a while. He was dominant for us tonight.”

Royals manager Ned Yost called Chen’s performance “spectacular.” The left-hander allowed three runs and four hits in 7 2-3 innings. He walked one and matched his career high for strikeouts.

It had been more than a decade since Chen’s last nine-strikeout game on June 13, 2001, at Tampa Bay. Of his 92 pitches, 67 were strikes.

“He kept us on our feet and kept them on their heels,” Moustakas said.

Jeff Francoeur matched his career high with four hits as the Royals, who had lost six of seven away from home, banged out 16 hits to open a 10-game, 10-day road trip on a winning note.

“Our attack was well-balanced,” Yost said. “We drove the gaps, we did a nice job in our situational hitting and got big hits when we needed to.”

Chen was perfect through three innings before Yunel Escobar singled to open the fourth, snapping an 0-for-17 slump.

“Chen did a very good job of keeping us out on our front foot, disrupting our timing,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said.

Greg Holland replaced Chen after Mike McCoy drew a two-out walk in the eighth. McCoy stole second but Holland got Escobar to ground out.

Joakim Soria gave up an RBI single to Adam Lind in the ninth but finished for his 23rd save in 30 opportunities.

Kansas City came in having lost seven of nine overall and 21 of its previous 28 in Toronto but jumped on Blue Jays right-hander Brandon Morrow with a three-run, four-hit second.

Hosmer led off with a homer to center, his 11th and first since July 27 at Boston. Francoeur doubled and Johnny Giavotella followed with an RBI single to center, advancing to second on Colby Rasmus’ fielding error. Salvador Perez capped the rally with an RBI single.

The Royals chased Morrow in the fifth, scoring three more runs. Butler hit a one-out homer to left, his 16th. Hosmer singled, stole second and scored on Giavotella’s double. Perez ended Morrow’s night with an RBI triple to right.

Morrow (9-8), who declined to speak with reporters, lost for the third time in four starts, allowing six runs and a season-high 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings. He walked one and struck out five.

“He’s been really good against us and today it looked like he didn’t have good command of his off-speed stuff,” Butler said. “His fastball was a little up and just hitting too much of the plate.”

Escobar had the only big hit of the night against Chen, a three-run homer to center in the sixth, his 11th.

“That’s about the only (mistake) he made,” Yost said.

Chen responded by setting down the next seven batters in order.

Blue Jays right-hander Joel Carreno made his major league debut in the sixth and worked 3 1-3 scoreless innings.

“He was calm, he was poised — at least outwardly,” Farrell said. “Inside he might have been going pretty quick with emotion. He made pitches with men in scoring position and got a couple of strikeouts. He did a very good job.”

NOTES: Toronto traded 2B Aaron Hill and INF John McDonald to Arizona for 2B Kelly Johnson. The Blue Jays also recalled C Brian Jeroloman from Triple-A Las Vegas. … Blue Jays RHP Frank Francisco, who missed Sunday’s game at Oakland with a sore right shoulder, threw before the game and was available. … Lind, who left Saturday’s game after being hit on the right wrist by a pitch, went 1 for 4 in his return to the lineup. … Royals leadoff batter Alex Gordon struck out four times in five at-bats. … Francouer had his ninth career four-hit game. … The game was delayed when two fans ran onto the field in the bottom of the seventh.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Toronto’s Colby Rasmus is greeted in the dugout after his solo home run in the fourth inning. The Blue Jays hit eight homers in the three-game series, including three on Wednesday. (Ted S. Warren/Associated Press)

Brandon Morrow is a different pitcher than he was two years ago when the Seattle Mariners gave up on him and shipped him to the Toronto Blue Jays in a trade.

He proved that Wednesday night, holding his former team to three hits and one run over six innings in the Blue Jays’ 5-1 victory.

Morrow was supported by three home runs. Edwin Encarnacion homered to open the second, Adam Lind had a three-run shot in the third and Colby Rasmus led off the fourth with his second. The Jays went deep eight times in the three-game series.

Morrow (9-7), who didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the fourth, struck out a season-high 12. It’s the fourth time this season he has struck out 10 or more.

“I’ve changed a lot in two years, not my pitching style necessarily,” Morrow said, “but my ability to do what I want with the ball has improved. And my ability to stay in the zone and my ability to stay in the game.”

This marked the first time Morrow had faced his former team in Seattle, which selected him in the first round of the 2006 draft. He was traded before the 2010 season for current Mariners closer Brandon League. He did not pitch in the Jays’ visit last season.

“I don’t think I necessarily pitched up to my ability when I was here,” he said. “I’ve improved. I enjoyed my time here. It was sad to leave but it ended up to be a good move for both sides.”

All not Wells with Casper

One pitch Morrow regrets throwing was a 97 mph fastball that hit Casper Wells in the face in the sixth inning. Wells, who had his streak of four home runs in four straight games ended, turned his head as the ball approached and was fortunate that it tagged the tip of his nose. Blood poured out as the trainer escorted him off the field. X-rays were negative.

“I couldn’t tell live where it hit him and the way he reacted I was worried about him,” Morrow said. “I’m glad he’s all right.”

Wells, with cotton balls stuffed up his nostrils after the game, said, “I have a headache. My nose feels humungous but I think I’ll be all right.”

Mariners manager Eric Wedge said Wells and the club “dodged a bullet.”

“He should be OK. It hit him in the nose, so it was fortunate it wasn’t broken,” he said. “Anytime you get up there, it’s scary.”

Jesse Litsch, Casey Janssen and Frank Francisco each worked a hitless inning of relief.

‘He was extremely powerful. He had his full assortment of pitches. Just an explosive fastball.’ — Jays manager John Farrell on starter Brandon Morrow

Encarnacion hit a 1-2 pitch from Blake Beavan (3-4) for his 12th home run. Over his last 19 games, he’s hitting .386.

Lind, also down in the count at 0-2, connected on his 22nd for a 4-0 lead after three. He has three home runs and 10 RBIs over his last eight games.

Beavan went just five innings, throwing 98 pitches. He allowed five runs on six hits. In his last two starts, he has allowed 11 runs and 17 hits in 11 1/3 innings.

“The way Brandon came through from the first pitch, he was extremely powerful,” Jays manager John Farrell said. “He had his full assortment of pitches. Just an explosive fastball. To think where he’s come from in two year’s time. He has settled into a role here. He was overpowering for his six innings tonight.”

‘Extra incentive’

Morrow acknowledged that there was “some extra incentive, some extra little adrenaline” pitching against his old team. He also was helped by the early lead, allowing him to be more aggressive.

“He had four pitches working,” Wedge said. “He had a live fastball. It was jumping on us a bit. They made him work a little bit. That’s probably why the ball got away from him late. He was wearing down a little bit.”

Morrow held the Mariners hitless until two outs in the fourth when Mike Carp roped a clean single to right. Carp has been a tough out since he arrived from triple-A July 19. The single extended his hitting streak to 17 games. He is hitting .379 with four home runs and 18 RBIs during the streak.

Carp also has reached base safely in 26 straight games.

The Mariners finally reached Morrow in the sixth. With one out, Ichiro Suzuki beat out an infield single. He moved to second on a wild pitch and came home on Franklin Gutierrez’s double off the left-centre wall.

The threat continued as Ackley walked. With two outs, Wells was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Adam Kennedy replaced him. Morrow then struck out Trayvon Robinson, looking, for his 12th.

Toronto’s Colby Rasmus is greeted in the dugout after his solo home run in the fourth inning. The Blue Jays hit eight homers in the three-game series, including three on Wednesday. (Ted S. Warren/Associated Press)

Brandon Morrow is a different pitcher than he was two years ago when the Seattle Mariners gave up on him and shipped him to the Toronto Blue Jays in a trade.

He proved that Wednesday night, holding his former team to three hits and one run over six innings in the Blue Jays’ 5-1 victory.

Morrow was supported by three home runs. Edwin Encarnacion homered to open the second, Adam Lind had a three-run shot in the third and Colby Rasmus led off the fourth with his second. The Jays went deep eight times in the three-game series.

Morrow (9-7), who didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the fourth, struck out a season-high 12. It’s the fourth time this season he has struck out 10 or more.

“I’ve changed a lot in two years, not my pitching style necessarily,” Morrow said, “but my ability to do what I want with the ball has improved. And my ability to stay in the zone and my ability to stay in the game.”

This marked the first time Morrow had faced his former team in Seattle, which selected him in the first round of the 2006 draft. He was traded before the 2010 season for current Mariners closer Brandon League. He did not pitch in the Jays’ visit last season.

“I don’t think I necessarily pitched up to my ability when I was here,” he said. “I’ve improved. I enjoyed my time here. It was sad to leave but it ended up to be a good move for both sides.”

All not Wells with Casper

One pitch Morrow regrets throwing was a 97 mph fastball that hit Casper Wells in the face in the sixth inning. Wells, who had his streak of four home runs in four straight games ended, turned his head as the ball approached and was fortunate that it tagged the tip of his nose. Blood poured out as the trainer escorted him off the field. X-rays were negative.

“I couldn’t tell live where it hit him and the way he reacted I was worried about him,” Morrow said. “I’m glad he’s all right.”

Wells, with cotton balls stuffed up his nostrils after the game, said, “I have a headache. My nose feels humungous but I think I’ll be all right.”

Mariners manager Eric Wedge said Wells and the club “dodged a bullet.”

“He should be OK. It hit him in the nose, so it was fortunate it wasn’t broken,” he said. “Anytime you get up there, it’s scary.”

Jesse Litsch, Casey Janssen and Frank Francisco each worked a hitless inning of relief.

‘He was extremely powerful. He had his full assortment of pitches. Just an explosive fastball.’ — Jays manager John Farrell on starter Brandon Morrow

Encarnacion hit a 1-2 pitch from Blake Beavan (3-4) for his 12th home run. Over his last 19 games, he’s hitting .386.

Lind, also down in the count at 0-2, connected on his 22nd for a 4-0 lead after three. He has three home runs and 10 RBIs over his last eight games.

Beavan went just five innings, throwing 98 pitches. He allowed five runs on six hits. In his last two starts, he has allowed 11 runs and 17 hits in 11 1/3 innings.

“The way Brandon came through from the first pitch, he was extremely powerful,” Jays manager John Farrell said. “He had his full assortment of pitches. Just an explosive fastball. To think where he’s come from in two year’s time. He has settled into a role here. He was overpowering for his six innings tonight.”

‘Extra incentive’

Morrow acknowledged that there was “some extra incentive, some extra little adrenaline” pitching against his old team. He also was helped by the early lead, allowing him to be more aggressive.

“He had four pitches working,” Wedge said. “He had a live fastball. It was jumping on us a bit. They made him work a little bit. That’s probably why the ball got away from him late. He was wearing down a little bit.”

Morrow held the Mariners hitless until two outs in the fourth when Mike Carp roped a clean single to right. Carp has been a tough out since he arrived from triple-A July 19. The single extended his hitting streak to 17 games. He is hitting .379 with four home runs and 18 RBIs during the streak.

Carp also has reached base safely in 26 straight games.

The Mariners finally reached Morrow in the sixth. With one out, Ichiro Suzuki beat out an infield single. He moved to second on a wild pitch and came home on Franklin Gutierrez’s double off the left-centre wall.

The threat continued as Ackley walked. With two outs, Wells was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Adam Kennedy replaced him. Morrow then struck out Trayvon Robinson, looking, for his 12th.

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Brandon Morrow walks off the field following the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Toronto, Friday, Aug. 12, 2011. The Angels defeated the Blue Jays 5-1. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

“Unreal,” Wells said of the streaking Santana. “He’s been the best pitcher in the game his last few starts. He reminds me of someone else I got to play behind for quite a few years.”

Santana (9-8) was working on a shutout before Eric Thames homered with one out in the ninth. But he recovered to complete a seven-hitter for his third complete game in four starts.

“I feel the same way every time,” Santana said. “Everything works how I want. It is (a good feeling), especially in the second half, when we need it.”

The right-hander struck out six and walked two while improving to 6-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his last nine starts, a stretch that includes a no-hitter at Cleveland on July 27.

“That’s a deep offensive lineup,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “They’ve got power all the way through the lineup and he kept them in check. Just a great game from Ervin.”

Wells went 1 for 4 in his first game back in Toronto after 12 seasons with the Blue Jays. He was asked beforehand how he expected the fans to treat him.

“Hopefully it’ll be a good reaction,” Wells said. “If not, I’ll get in the box and try to hit a homer.”

The crowd of 24,731 gave Wells a standing ovation when he came to the plate with two outs in the second, and he stepped out of the box and tipped his batting helmet in gratitude. After stepping back in, he swatted Brandon Morrow’s first pitch over the wall in left-center for his first homer since July 23 at Baltimore and No. 17 overall. That changed the tone of the crowd, who booed as Wells rounded the bases. Even so, Wells still called it “a special moment.”

“We kind of joked in the clubhouse a little bit, if you get a standing O, they can turn to boos in a heartbeat if you hit a homer,” Wells said afterward. “I obviously didn’t see that happening but it was a cool moment and a moment I’ll never forget.

“I just tried to hold back the emotion in that moment,” he added. “I didn’t think there would be much but there was. I just tried to enjoy it and obviously not be a cry baby at home plate.”

Scioscia said it was clear how excited Wells was after going deep.

“He was pumped,” Scioscia said. “That’s a great moment for Vernon. He left some footprints here, he played very well for a long time. For him to hit a home run on the first pitch he sees back in his old stomping grounds, it’s a terrific moment.”

Morrow (8-7) lost his second straight start, allowing five runs, four earned, and four hits in seven innings. He walked four and struck out three.

“I didn’t have a very good slider and that was the pitch Vernon hit out,” Morrow said. “He and (Torii) Hunter almost went back-to-back on pretty much the same pitch and I couldn’t put a guy away when I needed to.”

The Angels followed Wells’ drive by scoring three more in the third. Peter Bourjos led off with a walk, moved to second on Bobby Wilson’s sacrifice and scored on Alberto Callaspo’s two-out single, with Callaspo taking second on right fielder Jose Bautista’s throwing error. After Bobby Abreu walked, both runners scored on Hunter’s double to right.

Los Angeles added an unearned run off Morrow in the sixth. Hunter reached when Morrow lost his infield popup in the twilight, advanced to third on Russell Branyan’s double and scored on Bautista’s second error.

Erick Aybar stole second base in the seventh, giving the Angels 11 consecutive seasons with at least 100 steals, the longest active streak in the majors.

NOTES: Santana threw 102 pitches, 69 for strikes. … The Angels are 8-1 in Santana’s past nine starts but just 14-11 overall in his 25 starts this season. … Toronto DH Edwin Encarnacion extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games with a leadoff single in the eighth. … Bautista threw out Russell Branyan trying to advance on Wells’ fly ball in the sixth, his team-leading ninth outfield assist. … Toronto promoted SS Adeiny Hechavarria from Double-A New Hampshire to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow is 6-1 with a 3.59 ERA in his last nine games with a defeat to the Orioles being the only blemish. (Amy Sancetta/Associated Press)

Brett Lawrie’s major league debut was a success. It also helped the Toronto Blue Jays continue their domination over the Baltimore Orioles.

The 21-year-old third baseman should get another crack at the last-place Orioles on Saturday as the Blue Jays try to move above .500 on their road trip. First pitch at Camden Yards is 7:05 p.m. ET.

The Langley, B.C., native had two singles and drove in a run in Friday’s 5-4 victory. He also committed a fielding error, but it didn’t lead to any runs.

“I’m glad I got the first one out of the way,” Lawrie said of his debut, becoming the 17th Canadian to play for the Blue Jays.

Manager John Farrell, ejected in the seventh inning, was pleased with Lawrie’s demeanour.

“If there weren’t nerves tonight, he wouldn’t be human,” he said. “I’m sure there was some anxiety, some emotion running high. What was most impressive was how he approached each and every at-bat.”

Aaron Hill drove in two runs for the Blue Jays (57-55) as they avoided losing three straight for the first time since July 5-7 and improved to 2-2 on their trip, which concludes with Sunday’s series finale.

Toronto has won three straight over the Orioles and has gone 22-6 against them since the start of last season, with its starters posting a 2.93 earned-run average.

The last Blue Jays pitcher to lose to Baltimore was Brandon Morrow (8-5, 4.58 ERA), who takes the mound Saturday.

Seeking redemption

He’s 6-1 with a 3.59 ERA in his last nine games with a defeat to the Orioles being the only blemish. On July 26 in Toronto, the right-hander was lit up for seven runs in 3 1/3 innings of the 12-4 loss.

He bounced back with a solid effort against Texas on Sunday, striking out a season-high 11 while allowing two runs in seven innings of a 7-3 victory.

Morrow is 1-0 in four games, including two starts, at Camden Yards.

Adam Jones, who hit his 19th homer Friday and leads Baltimore with 65 runs batted in, is 3-for-13 with five strikeouts against Morrow.

After a subpar effort in his first major league appearance in more than two months, Chris Tillman (2-4, 5.16) is expected to start for the Orioles.

The right-hander will be recalled from AAA Norfolk to the take the roster spot left open when Jake Arrieta goes on the 15-day disabled list with an elbow injury. Arrieta leads the Orioles with 10 wins.

Recalled from the minors last Saturday to start the opener of a day-night doubleheader with the New York Yankees, Tillman was charged with seven runs — five earned — in 4 1/3 innings of the 8-3 defeat. It was the fourth straight start in which Tillman failed to reach the sixth inning.

Tillman is 0-2 with a 5.01 ERA in four career outings versus the Blue Jays but has never faced them in Baltimore.

The Orioles (43-66) have dropped eight of 11.

Chirinos had a three-run shot off Villanueva (6-3) during a four-run third that put the Rays up 8-1. An inning earlier, he drove in a run with a bunt single.

Villanueva gave up eight runs and nine hits over 2 2-3 innings.

“When he’s been in some jams of late, he’s been able to make a pitch with the secondary stuff down in the zone whether it’s been his change up or breaking ball and that wasn’t the case,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. “Didn’t have the usual late life he’d shown.”

Farrell said the team plans to talk about Villanueva’s innings total this season. The right-hander has given up 20 earned runs in 19 1-3 innings over his last four starts.

“He’s been primarily a reliever the last couple years,” Farrell said. “He’s at the point now where he’s getting up about 100 innings and we’re seeing the physical tolls of that. Health-wise he’s fine. It’s just a matter of maintaining strength over a longer period of time.”

“I think it’s showing us that we’ve got take a closer look and discuss what our next steps are,” he added. “It’s not to say that he’s coming out of the rotation by any means, but we’re well aware of late the lack of late action through the zone and that’s a sign of fatigue.”

Shields (10-9) allowed one run and three hits in 7 1-3 innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked three.

Ben Zobrist and Casey Kotchman also homered for the Rays, who are 7-11 over their last 18 games.

J.P. Arencibia homered for Toronto.

Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista had his third-inning pop fly caught by shortstop Sean Rodriguez for an out after the ball hit highest of four catwalks at Tropicana Field. It was the third ball since the stadium opened in 1998 that has struck the “A’’ ring, which located around 185 feet above the infield.

Zobrist hit a solo homer, Rodriguez bunted home a run, Chirinos drove in a run with his bunt hit and Johnny Damon added a sacrifice fly during a four-run second.

Kotchman had a solo homer before Chirinos’ drive in the third broke open the game.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Villanueva said. “I had nothing on the ball. Every ball that I seemed to leave close to the zone they hit it on the barrel of the bat.”

Matt Joyce made it 9-1 with an RBI single in the seventh.

Arencibia, who struck out in all four at-bats in the Blue Jays’ 3-1 win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday night, cut the deficit to 4-1 with his 18th homer of the season leading off the third. He has six homers in his last 10 games.

Shields struck out Travis Snider with two on and two out in the second. He retired 11 in a row after allowing Arencibia’s homer.

NOTES: The Blue Jays would like to get RHP Brandon Morrow around 175 innings this season. “Building block approach,” Farrell said. Morrow (8-5) has worked 112 innings so far. … Rays RHP Wade Davis (8-7), Thursday’s scheduled starter, is 2-2 with a 2.80 ERA in five career starts against the Blue Jays. “They’re aggressive swinging the bat,” Davis said. … Toronto LHP Brett Cecil (4-4) will look to win for the fourth time in his last six starts in Thursday’s series finale. He is 3-1 with a 2.19 ERA over his last five starts, including two complete games. … Toronto LHP Brian Tallet (chest) is nearing his first bullpen session.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Robinson Chirinos hit his first major-league homer and drove in four runs, James Shields pitched into the eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-1 on Wednesday night.

Chirinos had a three-run shot off Carlos Villanueva (6-3) during a four-run third that put the Rays up 8-1. An inning earlier, he drove in a run with a bunt single.

Shields (10-9) allowed one run and three hits in 7 1/3 innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked three.

The AL all-star was coming off a start last Wednesday where he gave up 10 runs over four innings in a 13-4 loss to Oakland.

Ben Zobrist and Casey Kotchman also homered for the Rays, who are 7-11 over their last 18 games.

J.P. Arencibia homered for Toronto.

Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista had his third-inning pop fly caught by Rodriguez at shortstop for an out after the ball hit the highest of four catwalks at Tropicana Field.

It was the third ball since the stadium opened in 1998 that has struck the “A” ring, about 185 feet above the infield.

Villanueva gave up eight runs and nine hits over 2 2/3 innings.

Zobrist hit a solo homer, Sean Rodriguez bunted home a run, Chirinos drove in a run with his bunt hit and Johnny Damon added a sacrifice fly during a four-run second.

Kotchman had a solo homer before Chirinos’ drive in the third broke open the game.

Matt Joyce made it 9-1 with an RBI single in the seventh.

Arencibia, who struck out in all four at-bats in the Blue Jays’ 3-1 win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday night, cut the deficit to 4-1 with his 18th homer of the season leading off the third. He has six homers in his last 10 games.

Shields struck out Travis Snider with two on and two out in the second. He retired 11 in a row after allowing Arencibia’s homer.

Notes: The Blue Jays would like to get RHP Brandon Morrow around 175 innings this season. “Building block approach,” manager John Farrell said. Morrow (8-5) has worked 112 innings so far. … Rays RHP Wade Davis (8-7), Today’s scheduled starter, is 2-2 with a 2.80 earned-run average in five career starts against the Blue Jays. “They’re aggressive swinging the bat,” Davis said. … Toronto LHP Brett Cecil (4-4) will look to win for the fourth time in his last six starts in Thursday’s series finale. He is 3-1 with a 2.19 ERA over his last five starts, including two complete games. … Toronto LHP Brian Tallet (chest) is nearing his first bullpen session.

The Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays would be contenders in either of the AL’s other two divisions, but instead they’re looking up at a pair of teams that appear to be untouchable.

That’s exactly what the Blue Jays have found David Price to be.

With an 8-0 record against Toronto – including six wins and a sub-1.00 ERA at home – Price tries to continue his dominance of the Blue Jays when the AL East rivals open a three-game set at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.

The Red Sox and Yankees have pulled away from the pack in the AL East, leaving the postseason as a long shot for the Rays (56-51) and Blue Jays (55-53).

The Blue Jays’ deal Wednesday for outfielder Colby Rasmus – one designed to help more in 2012 and beyond – was the only significant move either club made leading up to the trade deadline.

The big news for the Rays following Sunday’s 8-1 win at Seattle concerned the players who didn’t go anywhere. After much speculation, outfielder B.J. Upton and starter James Shields – among others – stayed put.

“I’m happy with the guys we have,” manager Joe Maddon told the Rays’ official website. “I like the guys we have a lot. … There’s still something to be derived from several people. And if we get that out of them for the last month or two, it can be like an acquisition. And it can really give us a little bit of a booster into August and September.”

One of those underperformers has been Price (9-9, 3.76 ERA), who has disappointed in 2011 after finishing second in the AL Cy Young award voting last season.

The left-hander fell to 2-4 with a 4.42 ERA over his last nine starts after giving up four runs over six innings in a 6-1 loss to Oakland last Tuesday, but he’s ready for an August turnaround.

“I still have tons of pride, so I’m going to try and throw a perfect game every time I step out there,” Price said. “There might be a little more pressure with how many games we’re out with however many to go.”

He’s been awfully close to perfect versus Toronto. Price is 8-0 with a 1.99 ERA in nine starts against the Blue Jays, going 6-0 with a 0.81 ERA at home.

As good as Price has been, Jose Bautista has still found a way to do some damage. Bautista is 8 for 19 against Price, taking him deep three times.

Perhaps facing Price will get Bautista out of his recent power funk. Despite leading the majors with 31 homers, Bautista hasn’t gone deep in 14 straight games – his longest drought since a 24-game gap in 2009.

Bautista is just a .220 hitter at Tropicana Field since arriving in Toronto, however, and his team’s struggles in St. Petersburg precede his 2008 arrival. The Rays have won 12 consecutive series when the Blue Jays visit, going 27-9.

Toronto comes in with some momentum after taking two of three from Texas, winning Sunday’s series finale 7-3 behind a strong start from Brandon Morrow and Rasmus’ first two hits in the AL.

Ricky Romero (8-9, 3.08) tries to sustain that while replicating his performance Wednesday against Baltimore. After posting a 5.87 ERA in his first four July starts, the left-hander held the Orioles to four hits over 8 1-3 innings in a 3-0 victory.

Romero is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in two home starts versus Tampa Bay this season. He has a 4.43 ERA in three career visits to Tropicana Field.

Ben Zobrist and Johnny Damon are a combined 14 for 31 in their careers versus Romero.

The Toronto Blue Jays’ lengthy home winning streak against the Baltimore Orioles finally came to an end when the clubs last met at Rogers Centre.

Just two days later, Brandon Morrow began an impressive run of his own.

Morrow has won five consecutive decisions and the Blue Jays have won all seven of his starts since June 18, streaks he’ll try to extend while helping Toronto restore its home dominance over Baltimore in Tuesday night’s series opener.

The Blue Jays (51-51) started a stretch of 16 straight wins against the Orioles at Rogers Centre on Aug. 8, 2009, but they couldn’t finish off their fifth consecutive sweep June 16. The Orioles scored twice in the ninth to break a tie, then survived Adam Lind’s solo homer in the bottom of the inning for a 4-3 victory.

“It’s not something we were thinking about out there on the field, but it’s always nice to get a win when you know that’s going on,” shortstop J.J. Hardy told the Orioles’ official website of ending their skid against the Blue Jays.

Toronto should feel pretty good about its chances of avoiding another loss with Morrow (7-4, 4.34 ERA) on the hill.

The hard-throwing right-hander is 5-0 with a 2.85 ERA and a .195 opponent batting average in his last seven starts. He’s won both of his home outings since the All-Star break, including an 11-6 victory over Seattle on Wednesday in which he allowed three runs over seven innings.

Morrow is 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts against the Orioles (40-58), all last season.

Baltimore right fielder Nick Markakis is 4 for 8 versus Morrow. He also did everything he could to help his team earn its first series victory since June 24-26 on Sunday against the Angels, but finishing a triple shy of the cycle wasn’t enough as the Orioles bullpen allowed six runs in the eighth and ninth innings of a 9-3 loss.

Adam Jones also went deep – he has five homers and 11 RBIs in his last nine games – but catcher Matt Wieters isn’t concerned with who’s been hot in Baltimore’s lineup.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Adam or Nick (who have) been hitting well,” Wieters said. “There are guys that aren’t hitting well. … The goal is to win the game, and right now we’re not winning games.”

The Blue Jays were outscored 17-6 while dropping their first two games in Texas over the weekend, but Brett Cecil made sure they’d avoid a sweep. The left-hander held the high-scoring Rangers to four singles while going the distance in Sunday’s 3-0 victory.

Toronto won without a home run, improving to 7-22 in such games and tying them with the Orioles (7-23) for the majors’ fewest victories when failing to homer.

Facing the Orioles back home should help the Blue Jays rediscover their power. They’ve hit 37 homers in their last 16 games versus Baltimore at Rogers Centre versus Baltimore. Jose Bautista has six homers in his last 10 home games in the series, posting a 1.523 OPS in that stretch.

Bautista, however, is 0 for 7 lifetime against Jake Arrieta (9-7, 5.02), who will try for a fifth time to earn his 10th win. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 7.17 ERA in July after giving up three runs over seven innings of a 4-0 loss to Boston on Wednesday.

Arrieta is 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA in three starts versus Toronto. He’s also given up six long balls in his last three starts overall – one more than Morrow has allowed all season.

Lind has gone deep in four straight games against Baltimore, totaling five homers while going 10 for 15.

TORONTO — A reporter suggested to Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell that starter Brandon Morrow was so calm he could pitch through an earthquake.

Farrell liked that assessment.

“That’s the way Brandon handles almost everything in life: a very emotionally controlled person, very intelligent guy that has an ability to process what he’s going through,” Farrell said.

After Morrow’s current team beat his old team, the Seattle Mariners, 11-6 on Wednesday evening, reliever Octavio Dotel decided to put that theory to the test. As Morrow met with a scrum of scribes, Dotel blew an air horn.

Morrow cleaned out his ear, winced and offered a “huh.” The chilled-out-bordering-on-laconic power pitcher can be rattled, after all.

Not by the feeble Mariners, though, who have now lost 11 straight games.

Playing the Mariners for the first time since they dealt him in December 2009, Morrow, a first-round pick in 2006, wasn’t at his best — like he was last Friday when he held the powerful Yankees to one run — but he was good enough to win.

Morrow is now 5-0 in his last seven starts, pitching into the seventh inning in all but one of those outings.

Once Morrow escaped a bases-loaded, no-outs situation in the first inning, the win was pretty much assured given the Blue Jays’ offensive surge. Morrow lasted seven innings, allowing three runs and seven hits, striking out seven.

He got out of the early jam with a strike out, a pop out and a line out.

Morrow assigned some of his early jitters — he walked two of the first three batters — to playing Seattle, although he clarified the start didn’t bring the anxiety that he expected.

“Not as much as I thought it would. Last year I think it would have been a bigger deal,” Morrow said. “But there are really not too many guys I played with, really just a handful, and really nobody in the lineup other than Ichiro (Suzuki) and (Franklin) Gutierrez that I played with.”

Morrow’s recent stretch has been quite the leap from his start to the season. Following an elbow injury, Morrow went just 2-3 with a 5.63 earned-run average in his first 10 starts. Since then, his efforts have ranged from good to excellent.

The result was hardly in doubt Wednesday, as the Blue Jays mashed the Mariners’ pitching. Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind hit homers off the facade formerly known as Windows Restaurant, but it was Travis Snider who continued to impress.

Snider had five runs batted in, including a three-run home run, against the Mariners, this coming after a four-strikeout outing in a 14-inning game a night earlier. The April version of Snider, the thinking goes, would not have been able to recover so easily.

In the 13 games since being recalled from triple-A Las Vegas, Snider is hitting .357 with 22 RBIs.

“Just doing some soul searching along with swing rebuilding, you come to learn yourself more and more everyday as you struggle or have success,” Snider said. “Being able to balance the two and keep things in check from a negative and positive standpoint — again, keeping that mindset day in and day out.”

Part of that soul searching: reading former Blue Jay Shawn Green’s book, The Way Of Baseball.

“I thought it was a fantastic read,” Snider said. “It put a lot of things in perspective. I actually didn’t get it until I was recalled. But a lot of things I read there made sense as a hitter and as a player, understanding the mindset we go through whether it’s your ego or the thoughts that go through your head and being able to control your concentration when you’re working on things.”

That lightens the blow of Green’s time in Toronto ending tumultuously all those years ago, if just a bit.

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Morrow has a 2.79 ERA in seven road starts compared to a 6.87 ERA in seven outings at home, where he is 1-4. (Newman Lowrance/Getty Images)

Over the last eight years, the Toronto Blue Jays haven’t come out on top very often in Cleveland. But giving the ball to Brandon Morrow could help the Blue Jays pick up a second straight victory at Progressive Field.

Morrow tries to win his third consecutive start and add to his undefeated road record Saturday night when the Blue Jays and Indians continue their four-game series.

After giving up five ninth-inning runs Thursday in what manager John Farrell called a “gut-wrenching” 5-4 loss, Toronto (43-47) pounded out 16 hits — the club’s second-most this season — in Friday’s 11-7 victory.

Travis Snider hit a two-run homer and drove in a career high-tying five runs while Rajai Davis knocked in a season high-tying four to help the Blue Jays snap a three-game losing streak and an 0-3 stretch versus Cleveland.

Toronto had dropped five in a row and 21 of 28 on the road against the Indians.

“The thing we’ve seen time and time again this season, is when we’ve had some adversity the day before we’ve put it behind us,” said Farrell, whose club had lost eight of 11 overall. “We continue to battle and compete.”

The Blue Jays continue their seven-game trip with Morrow (5-4, 4.73 ERA) looking for another strong performance outside Toronto. The right-hander, 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA in his last four starts, improved to 4-0 on the road Monday after throwing five-plus innings of four-run ball in a 9-7 win over Boston.

Morrow has a 2.79 ERA in seven road starts compared to a 6.87 ERA in seven outings at home, where he is 1-4.

In a 6-3 loss to visiting Cleveland on May 31, Morrow struck out nine but gave up six runs in five innings. He is 0-2 with a 6.61 ERA in three starts against the Indians.

Cleveland (47-40), one-half game ahead of second-place Detroit, looks to bounce back with Josh Tomlin (10-4, 3.78) trying to win his fourth consecutive decision.

In Monday’s 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees, the right-hander went seven innings — giving up two runs and three hits — to become the first player since 1919 to pitch at least five innings in each of first 29 appearances.

“Tomlin knows how to pitch,” Yankees captain Derek Jeter said. “He didn’t throw a ball over the plate all day to me.”

Tomlin, though, leads the majors with the fewest walks per nine innings (1.07) and is among the best with 4.85 strikeouts per walk. He fanned a season-high seven with one walk in a 13-9 win at Toronto on June 1 when he allowed a season-high six runs.

Blue Jays All-Star Jose Bautista, 0 for 4 against Tomlin, is one homer shy of setting the club record for homers before the All-Star break with 30.

Bautista is batting .368 (7 for 19) with one home run and five RBIs off Indians pitching this season.

Davis is 9 for 20 (.450) against Cleveland in 2011, with 11 of his 23 RBIs coming in five games these clubs have met. He is 2 for 3 with a triple and a homer off Tomlin.

Indians center fielder Michael Brantley matched a career high with four hits Friday to improve to 12 for 24 against Toronto this season. Brantley is 2 for 3 with a double and a triple against Morrow.

John Lackey made up for a terrible first start in Toronto this season, No. 9 hitter Jason Varitek homered and drove in four runs and the Boston Red Sox routed the Toronto Blue Jays 16-4 on Saturday.

Lackey (4-5) delivered six strong innings in his second start since going on the disabled list after giving up nine runs in 6 2-3 innings against the Blue Jays on May 11.
The right-hander was charged with four runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out a season-high eight.

David Oritz hit a three-run homer and Dustin Pedroia drove in three runs as Boston amassed 18 hits. The Red Sox batted around twice and every starter drove in at least one run in piling up the most runs allowed by the Blue Jays this season.

Things got so bad for Toronto, utility man Mike McCoy pitched the ninth inning.

McCoy, who had started at second base in place of Aaron Hill, pitched a perfect inning.
Varitek ended a horrible afternoon for Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow (2-4) with a three-run home run in the top of the fifth that made it 9-2.

Morrow gave up a career-worst nine earned runs, 10 hits and three walks in just 4 1-3 innings, the 26-year-old’s shortest outing of the season.

Blue Jays trainers checked on Morrow in the top of the second after he was hit on the back of his right leg by a line drive off the bat of ex-Blue Jay Marco Scutaro.

Reliever Jason Frasor took over with one out in the fifth but fared little better.

He surrendered a hit and a walk before Ortiz hit his 16th homer of the season that stretched Boston’s lead to 12-2.

Boston took a 4-0 lead in the top of the third as five straight Red Sox reached with one out, batting around for the first time.

Back-to-back singles by Jacoby Ellsbury and Pedroia set up Adrian Gonzalez, who roped a double to right that scored Ellsbury.

The hit gave the first baseman at least one RBI in eight straight games, extending a new career high he set on Friday when Boston won the series opener 5-1.

Morrow then loaded the bases by intentionally walking Ortiz — after a first-inning single was 5 for 8 in his career against the right-hander — to face Jed Lowrie, who had never faced Morrow before popping up to end the first.

The move backfired. Morrow hit Lowrie with a pitch to force in a run that made it 2-0.
Carl Crawford hit a sacrifice fly to left before Scutaro hit an RBI single up the middle.

Pedroia had a one-out RBI double in the fourth and two-run double in the eighth. Rajai Davis snapped an 0-for-23 slump with a two-run double that cut Boston’s lead to 5-2 in the fourth.

Edwin Encarnacion’s second home run of the season, a two-run shot off Lackey in the sixth, scored Toronto’s only other runs.

(Sports Network) – Dominican right-hander Felipe Paulino gets his second 2011
start tonight when the pitching-ravaged Kansas City Royals host the Toronto
Blue Jays in the opening test of a four-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

Paulino opened the season with 18 consecutive bullpen appearances with the
National League’s Colorado Rockies, then came to Kansas City on May 26 when
his contract was purchased by the Royals.

He’s made two appearances with his new AL team, tossing a combined 9 1/3
scoreless innings while allowing five hits, walking none and striking out
seven in no-decisions against Texas and the Los Angeles Angels.

The Royals have won both games he started.

Three of the team’s five regular starters are on the disabled list, including
Sean O’Sullivan (biceps tendinitis), Kyle Davies (rotator cuff inflammation)
and Bruce Chen (left lat strain).

Kansas City has lost four straight including Sunday, when Brian Duensing
tossed eight shutout innings to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 6-0 victory that
completed a series sweep.

Jeff Francis (2-6) gave up four runs – only one earned – in seven innings to
take the loss, the Royals’ seventh in their last nine games.

On Sunday in Baltimore, Adam Lind went 4-for-4 with a pair of solo homers and
three RBI, as the Blue Jays took down the Orioles, 7-4, in the rubber match of
a three-game series. Yunel Escobar hit a three-run homer for Toronto, which
had lost three of four coming into Sunday’s game.

Jo-Jo Reyes (2-4) gave up three runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings to pick
up his second straight win since going 28 games without a victory. Coming off
his first career complete game against the Indians on May 30, Reyes walked
four and struck out three.

Right-hander Brandon Morrow starts for Toronto in search of a first win since
May 15. In that game, at Minnesota, he allowed three runs on five hits in five
innings of an 11-3 triumph.

In three starts since, he’s 0-1 with two no-decisions while giving up 22 hits
and 11 runs in 18 innings.

He’s 2-3 lifetime against Kansas City with a save and a 5.51 earned run
average in 16 1/3 innings.

Kansas City split its six games with the Jays a year ago.

The Sports Network