Blue Jays rap out 17 hits to outslug Angels
TORONTO -- A pair of four-run innings helped the Blue Jays snap a five-game losing streak with a 10-6 series-opening victory over the Angels on Monday afternoon.
The home team put up four runs apiece in the second and sixth frames before adding a pair in the seventh as it opened a 10-game homestand at Rogers Centre.
Six players had multihit games to pace the Blue Jays, who put up double-digit runs for the eighth time this season while matching a season-high 17 hits. Jose Bautista put the game out of reach with a two-run shot off reliever Cesar Ramos in the bottom of the seventh that was measured at 461 feet by Statcast™.
Albert Pujols, David Freese and Chris Iannetta hit solo home runs in a losing cause for the Angels, who had gone the previous six games without allowing more than three runs.
After Toronto jumped out to a early 4-0 lead in the second off C.J. Wilson, the Angels fought back with three runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth to grab a one-run lead. That was short-lived, however, as all nine Blue Jays hitters came to the plate in the bottom half of the frame as Halos relievers Mike Morin and Vinnie Pestano allowed a combined three walks and three hits.
Video: LAA@TOR: Giavotella puts Halos on top with RBI single
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Martin comes through: Russell Martin paced the Blue Jays' sixth-inning comeback with a two-out, full-count, bases-loaded single to cash in a pair of runs, reinstating a one-run Toronto lead. After Ryan Goins singled and Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion walked, Martin took a Pestano fastball to left-center field for his second of three hits in the game. Danny Valencia followed that up with a two-run double to give the Blue Jays a four-run inning for the second time on the afternoon.
Video: LAA@TOR: Martin singles home two runs for lead
Pesta-no: After Morin walked back-to-back hitters on eight straight pitches in the sixth, Angels manager Mike Scioscia turned to Pestano, the sidearm right-hander who had limited opposing right-handed hitters to just three hits in 19 at-bats this season. But Pestano, pitching for the first time in nine days, allowed three straight right-handed hitters to reach while turning a one-run lead into a three-run deficit. His ERA jumped from 4.32 to 5.19.
"It's nobody's fault but my own," Pestano said. "I was put in there to get one out and I didn't get the job done. I have to find a way. I'm not going to use the time that I've thrown between appearances as an excuse. I have to be ready whenever I'm needed." More >
Video: LAA@TOR: Bautista jacks two-run homer to left in 7th
Jays break out in second: The home team rallied for six straight hits in the bottom of the second to shoot out to a 4-0 lead. Angels starter C.J. Wilson walked Chris Colabello to start the frame before Steve Tolleson, Goins, Josh Donaldson, Bautista, Encarnacion and Martin swatted two doubles and four singles to get the Blue Jays on the board early. More >
Video: LAA@TOR: Encarnacion singles to left to make it 4-0
Signs of life: Trailing by four early, the Angels' floundering offense responded to overcome their largest deficit of the season. Pujols and Freese each hit solo homers, Iannetta lined the first of his two doubles and Johnny Giavotella snapped a 1-for-16 skid with a two-out RBI single in the sixth that briefly gave the Angels the lead. Iannetta added a solo homer in the eighth and has five hits in his last two games, lifting his batting average from .101 to .156.
"I think we did a good job," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of the offense. "They have good arms coming out of the 'pen and some guys throwing the ball well. We did a good job to get a lead; we just couldn't hold it." More >
Video: LAA@TOR: Iannetta goes yard in the 8th inning
QUOTABLE
"I'm not here to try and throw anybody under the bus, but there was obviously something said to me and I don't just banter [and] go on a run like that for anything."
-- Donaldson, on the verbal spat he got into with the Angels' dugout in the sixth inning More >
"He said his profanities and made a classless gesture. I guess that's just part of what he is."
-- Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher, on Donaldson
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Prior to Monday's game, the Angels were the only team in the American League that had not allowed double-digit runs in a game. Their pitching staff had surrendered nine runs combined in the previous six games and entered the four-game series with the fifth-lowest ERA in the Majors.
REPLAY REVIEW
Kevin Pillar was picked off and caught stealing second base to end the fifth inning. Pillar broke for second when Wilson made a move to first base, and attempted to avoid the tag from Giavotella as he slid in. After he was called out, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons challenged, but after a review of one minute and 58 seconds, the call on the field would stand and the inning was over.
Video: LAA@TOR: Call stands as Pillar caught stealing
WHAT'S NEXT
Angels: Lefty Hector Santiago starts the second of a four-game series from Rogers Centre on Tuesday, with game time set for 7:07 p.m. ET. Santiago has given up just one run over a combined 12 1/3 innings in his last two starts, pitching around four walks on May 7 and seven hits on Wednesday.
Blue Jays: Right-hander Aaron Sanchez will make the start on an extra day of rest for the Blue Jays. Sanchez was originally slated to get the ball for the series opener, but the club called up Todd Redmond to make a spot start to give the rotation a breather. Sanchez's 29 walks lead the AL.
Watch every out-of-market regular season game live on MLB.TV.