Baltimore led by as many as 5 1/2 games on June 29, but it has been evaporating ever since. Boston briefly took over first place earlier this month, and now it's the Blue Jays who have jumped in front after the Orioles lost their fifth consecutive game. The Red Sox dropped to 1 1/2 games back of Toronto pending the result of Saturday night's game against the Angels.
Devon Travis went 2-for-4 with a home run during a seven-run fifth inning while every member of the starting lineup reached base at least once except for Melvin Upton Jr. The Blue Jays scored at least nine runs for the 15th time this season. Lefty J.A. Happ picked up the win after he allowed just one run over seven-plus strong innings.
Happ's impressive outing
BAL@TOR: Happ fans 11 over seven-plus innings
J.A. Happ holds the Orioles' offense to just one run and two hits while striking out 11 batters, exiting the game with a 9-1 lead
Designated hitter Pedro Alvarez provided one of the lone bright spots for Baltimore. Alvarez hit a solo homer in the second, but that was the only offense the Orioles could generate off Happ. Right-hander Yovani Gallardo was saddled with the loss as he gave up five runs on five hits and could not pitch his way out of the fifth.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Everybody gets a turn: The Blue Jays sent 11 batters to the plate in the fifth inning, breaking the game wide open with three doubles, four walks and a solo homer en route to seven runs. Travis started the rally with a one-out solo shot to left-center field. Edwin Encarnacion, Russell Martin and Kevin Pillar followed with RBI doubles. It marked the third time this season Toronto scored at least seven runs in the same inning.
Blue Jays' seven-run 5th inning
BAL@TOR: Blue Jays score seven runs in the 5th
The Blue Jays put up seven runs in the 5th inning to jump out to a 7-1 lead
Another short start: Fresh off of Kevin Gausman's three innings in Friday's loss, Gallardo fought his way through a bases-loaded jam in the first inning. But he couldn't wriggle free in the fifth and was charged with five runs on five hits and five walks. Gallardo has a 5.70 ERA on the season.
Gallardo escapes early jam
BAL@TOR: Gallardo leaves the bases loaded in the 1st
Yovani Gallardo gets Russell Martin swinging for strike three, leaving the bases loaded in the 1st inning
Piling on: Pillar's second double of the game gave the Blue Jays a 9-1 lead in the seventh inning. Toronto's center fielder finished his day 2-for-4 with four RBIs in his third multi-hit game over his last five. The four RBIs matched his career high, which was previously set on June 2, 2015, against Max Scherzer and the Nationals.
Pillar's second two-run double
BAL@TOR: Pillar records his second two-run double
Kevin Pillar slams a double down the line in left field, driving in Russell Martin and Michael Saunders to increase the lead to 9-1
Ondrusek debut: Logan Ondrusek, who was signed to a Major League deal on Friday, made his debut in the sixth inning. The righty, who last pitched in the Majors for the Reds in 2014, recorded one strikeout and had a 1-2-3 frame.
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Since June 11, the Blue Jays have scored 250 runs, which is the most in the Major Leagues. Orioles pitching has allowed 45 runs in six games in Toronto this season.
WHAT'S NEXT
Orioles: Baltimore will try to salvage the series with right-hander Chris Tillman at 1:07 p.m. ET on Sunday. Rogers Centre has been a tough environment for Tillman, who has posted a 7.94 ERA there in 11 career starts, allowing a 1.019 OPS and 19 home runs. This is his first test there in 2016.
Blue Jays: Right-hander Aaron Sanchez (11-1, 2.72 ERA) will take the mound when the Blue Jays close out their three-game series against Baltimore on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre. There continues to be talk that Sanchez will eventually move to the bullpen because of an innings limit, but he has allowed more than two earned runs in a start just once since the start of June.
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This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Happ, Blue Jays climb past O's into 1st place
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