Homers, Stroman lift Blue Jays over Mariners

SEATTLE -- Kendrys Morales, Ezequiel Carrera and Justin Smoak homered, and Marcus Stroman allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings to lead the Blue Jays over the Mariners, 4-2, Saturday night at Safeco Field.
The left-handed Carrera pulled a sinker high in the zone off Mariners reliever Tony Zych on a 1-2 count into the right-field bleachers for the go-ahead run in the eighth, his fifth long ball of the year.
"[Carrera's] been known to do that," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "You look back the last couple years, he had two home runs in one game here. But he's got some pop. Occasionally, he'll run into one. We love home runs. … I don't know if you can do that forever, but right now it's working."
• See how Bautista reaches second on walk
Morales provided the Blue Jays their first lead in emphatic fashion, launching a two-run home run to left-center field off Mariners starter Aríel Miranda in the fourth for a 2-1 lead. The homer traveled a Statcast™ projected 437 feet, his third longest of the season, with an exit velocity of 112.6 mph, Morales' second hardest-hit home run of his career. He hit a home run with an exit velocity of 115.6 mph on June 6, 2016.

"I was trying to [make] a big swing, to be honest," said Morales, who had two stints with the Mariners. "I just tried to put the ball in play hard, and he gave me a cookie. He threw a fastball a little bit high and I took advantage of it."
Stroman has allowed two runs or fewer in six of his past seven games. During that stretch, he's posted a 2.34 ERA over 42 1/3 innings.
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"It's early June, but I think it's a game we needed after that tough one last night," Gibbons said. "We're just trying to climb back to .500, and he stepped up again. He was really, really good."
Miranda allowed only two hits in 6 1/3 innings, but he struggled with command, walking five batters. The Mariners missed an opportunity to climb above .500 for the first time this season.
"I didn't think Miranda was quite as sharp as he was last time out," Servais said. "Walks hurt him a little bit there. But he battled, he hung in there."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Getting out of the jam: The eighth inning started out rocky for Blue Jays reliever Joe Smith when he relinquished back-to-back singles to Guillermo Heredia and Robinson Canó to lead off the inning. But he escaped the jam by forcing Nelson Cruz to ground into a fielder's choice, Kyle Seager to strike out and Taylor Motter to hit into a fielder's choice. More >
Speed kills: Mariners outfielder Jarrod Dyson single-handedly scored the Mariners' only run in the seventh. He singled, then stole second, reached third on a throwing error by catcher Russell Martin and advanced home after Kevin Pillar's fielding error in center field.
"That's something different. That's something I've never really seen before on our side," Seager said of Dyson's speed. "We've had some guys that run before on our side, but not to the extent that he can do. He's pretty special and he's really dynamic."

BAUTISTA STROLLS TO 2ND
In an unusual play, José Bautista swiped second base after being walked, while Zych still had the ball in his hand. The play was ruled a fielder's choice. Zych said he was frustrated after walking Bautista on some close pitches.
"Just refocusing there and it was a tough at-bat and I looked up and he was already at second," Zych said. "They were kind of moving into the shift and I was looking at Seager and he was going, and by the time I realized it he was there. No one really said anything. Just one of those freak things. Great time to go."

UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Cruz was called out at first base to complete a Blue Jays 5-4-3 double play in the bottom of the eighth. But first-base umpire Clint Fagan's call was overturned after it was determined the ball did not reach Toronto first baseman Smoak's glove in time to call out the ailing Cruz, who is fighting through a right-calf injury.

WHAT'S NEXT
Blue Jays: The Blue Jays will wrap their six-game road trip Sunday at 4:10 p.m. ET, with J.A. Happ set to make his third start since coming off the disabled list with left elbow soreness. The veteran left-hander has yet to replicate his monster 2016 season, when he went 20-4 with a 3.18 ERA in 32 starts. In five starts this year, Happ is 0-4 with a 5.33 ERA.
Mariners:James Paxton takes the hill in the final game of the Mariners' three-game series with Toronto at 1:10 p.m. PT at Safeco Field. The left-hander is 5-0 with a 1.69 ERA this season.
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