More than usual, Toronto Blue Jays jerseys peppered the stands. It’s his 14th game with 10 strikeouts and zero walks since his first full season as starter in 2009.
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“It means a lot”, Happ said. “It’s a testament to our team”.
Cruz hit a pair of home runs, a grand slam in the third inning and a three-run shot in eighth for his 24th and 25th long balls of the season. “He’d been a closer for a number of years and he was very good at it. It was an adjustment for him no doubt about it, but he never used that as an excuse”.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons acknowledged that Drew Storen might have been able to minimize his struggles this season had he been used more frequently. “It was one of those games where everyone gets caught up on it when everything goes south on you”.
The Mariners outhit Toronto 19-8.
“He has 13 now and there’s two months left, there’s no telling how many he can chalk up”.
Happ is a changed pitcher, more consistent than he was and also not so prone on dwelling on mistakes.
NL West-leading San Francisco had lost a season-high six straight games and had held just one lead since the break – when Buster Posey hit a go-ahead home run leading off the 10th inning at San Diego on July 16 only to have the Padres rally for a pair of runs in the bottom half against Santiago Casilla.
Hisashi Iwakuma (11-6) got the win, striking out three and allowing two runs on four hits and three walks over six innings.
“I think it’s a great ballpark, great hitter’s ballpark”, Cruz said.
“It was a well-pitched game on both sides. There weren’t a lot of opportunities but in a game like that, you’ve got to take advantage of them”. “He’s a better pitcher than he’s ever been”.
The Mariners mounted their only real threat when Happ began the fourth inning by walking Chris Iannetta and hitting Robinson Cano. “We were in a really good rhythm the whole game”.
Encarnacion opened the scoring with a two-out drive to center in the fourth, his 27th. It was his 224th home run with the Blue Jays, breaking a tie with Vernon Wells and giving him sole possession of third place on Toronto’s all-time list.
Encarnacion made a diving play at first base in the fifth to deprive Leonys Martin of a hit.
Thole scored on a double play ground out to second by Josh Donaldson, putting Toronto ahead 2-0.
Thole led off the sixth inning with a double and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, sliding under the tag of Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager. It was his eighth career multihomer game and third this season.
He then made it to third on a grounder to first by Darwin Barney.
Tom Wilhelmsen and Joaquin Benoit each pitched a scoreless inning.
The Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen has been an issue this season, and one of the biggest issues was designated for assignment, that issue being Drew Storen. After losing out on that gig to Roberto Osuna in spring training, Storen has since toiled in middle relief, amassing 6.21 ERA and 1.59 WHIP over 33.1 innings. Happ will be facing a Mariners team that is growing in confidence with four wins it the last five games.
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On two swings of the bat, Mariners slugger Nelson Cruz recorded seven RBIs against the Blue Jays.
