TORONTO - These are the Toronto Blue Jays Edwin Encarnacion expected after a busy off season.
Encarnacion homered and drove in four runs, Josh Johnson won for the first time this season and the Blue Jays matched a team record by winning their 11th consecutive game Sunday, finishing a three-game sweep of Baltimore with a 13-5 victory.
The Blue Jays have gone 28-15 since May 2, when they were a season-worst 10-21. They’ve won 15 of their past 18, outscoring their opponents 102-52 in that span.
“I’ve been waiting for this since the season started,” Encarnacion said. “I believe in this team so I knew things had to change, things had to become good for us. That’s the way right now and we enjoy it, enjoy the moment. I’m not surprised by this. I know this team is good and I know we can do it.”
Toronto has swept three consecutive series for the first time since 1998, the last time they won 11 consecutive. The Blue Jays also won 11 consecutive games in 1987.
“Everybody is doing their job, everybody is pitching in,” Johnson said. “It’s been impressive.”
Playing before a sellout crowd of 45,214 at Rogers Centre, Toronto became the first team since Detroit in 2011 to win 11 consecutive.
“We’re feeling pretty good about ourselves,” Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons said. “We shut down a really good team over there.”
The Blue Jays, who begin a three game series at Tampa Bay today, have not lost since a 10-6 defeat at the Chicago White Sox on June 10.
Ryan Flaherty hit two home runs but Baltimore lost for the fifth time in eight games and allowed a season high in runs.
MARINERS 6, ATHLETICS 3 Pinch-hitter Kendrys Morales had a game-ending three-run homer in the 10th inning and Raul Ibanez connected twice for host Seattle in a victory over Oakland.
ROYALS 7, WHITE SOX 6 Kansas City took advantage of a pair of errors by the visiting Chicago White Sox to score three times in the eighth inning and rally for a victory that avoided a three-game sweep.
TIGERS 7, RED SOX 5 Torii Hunter (Pine Bluff) hit a tie breaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning after two Boston errors helped load the bases, and Prince Fielder added a two-run single to help host Detroit to a sloppy victory Sunday.
TWINS 5, INDIANS 3 Emergency starter Pedro Hernandez allowed two runs in five innings, and visiting Minnesota avoided a three-game sweep with a victory over Cleveland.
RAYS 3, YANKEES 1 James Loney hit a tie breaking two-run single with two outs in the seventh inning and visiting Tampa Bay beat the New York Yankees for a four-game series split.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
REDS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Mat Latos matched his career high with 13 strikeouts and visiting cincinnati salvaged the finale of their three game series in Arizona with a victory.
BRAVES 7 BREWERS 4 Brian McCann hit an early grand slam and visiting Atlanta got solo home runs from Chris Johnson and Jordan Schafer in a victory over Milwaukee.
DODGERS 3, PADRES 1 Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning to lift visiting Los Angeles over San Diego.
METS 8, PHILLIES 0 David Wright homered, tripled and matched a New York Mets record with four extra-base hits to back Matt Harvey’s splendid start in a lopsided victory over host Philadelphia.
ROCKIES 7, NATIONALS 6 Michael Cuddyer homered in his first at-bat to extend the longest hitting streak in the majors this season to 21 games, and visiting Colorado hung on to beat Washington. MARLINS 7, GIANTS 2 Justin Ruggiano hit a lead off home run to get visiting Miami started and added a two-run shot in the ninth, leading the Marlins to victory.
INTERLEAGUE
CUBS 14, ASTROS 6 Ryan Sweeney had a career-high six RBI, including a three-run homer, as host Chicago routed Houston. Sweeney drove in runs in each of his first four at-bats, capping the stretch with his homer. He also had two doubles and a run-scoring grounder.
PIRATES 10, ANGELS 9 Pedro Alvarez homered for the fourth consecutive game, Starling Marte capped a three-run ninth with a tying single, and visiting Pittsburgh added four more in the 10th.
Sunday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE Colorado 7, Washington 6 NY Mets 8, Philadelphia 0 Atlanta 7, Milwaukee 4 Miami 7, San Francisco 2 Cincinnati 4, Arizona 2 LA Dodgers 3, San Diego 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE Minnesota 5, Cleveland 3 Toronto 13, Baltimore 5 Detroit 7, Boston 5 Tampa Bay 3, NY Yankees 1 Kansas City 7, Chicago White Sox 6 Seattle 6, Oakland 3, 10 inn.
INTERLEAGUE Chicago Cubs 14, Houston 6 Pittsburgh 10, LA Angels 9, 10 inn.
Texas at St. Louis, (n)
Sports, Pages 16 on 06/24/2013