Happ impresses yet again, working into the ninth inning as Blue Jays beat Braves

TORONTO J.A. Happ has been the lone Toronto Blue Jays starter who has been consistently strong this season.

With his team continuing to languish under the .500 mark, each solid performance is raising the chances he’ll soon find himself wearing another uniform.

Happ became the first Blue Jays starter to work into the ninth inning this season, throwing 8 1/3 effective innings in a 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday afternoon.

The veteran left-hander became the first player in the major leagues this season to record four starts with eight strikeouts and no walks, hiking his trade value even more.

“I know he’s in demand and I can see why,” said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. “If we were on the other end of it, I’d want him too.”

Kendrys Morales hit a tworun homer and Ryan Tepera survived a nervous ninth for his fifth save. Toronto (34-39) salvaged a split of the two-game mini-series.

Happ gave up a couple early solo homers before settling down, retiring 13 in a row at one point en route to his teamleading ninth win.

Consecutive one-out singles brought Gibbons out in the ninth and the crowd of 45,563 gave Happ a nice ovation as he walked to the dugout.

“I wanted (the complete game) but that’s baseball, it kind of shows you how hard it is,” Happ said. “They were able to flare a couple balls in and then (get a) couple ground balls through the infield.

“That’s how hard it can be at times. But overall it was a good day. We got the win and we’ll move on.”

Happ (9-3), who’s earning US$13 million this season, is in the final year of his contract. He left the game with a three-run lead and was charged with four earned runs and six hits.

“I certainly enjoy pitching here,” he said. “Having an outing and a response from the crowd like I did today, that was nice. I signed to play here and try to help this team get to the playoffs and that’s still my goal.

“That’s what I want to do. Until somebody tells me different, I’m going to have fun doing that.”

THE CANADIAN PRESS/NATHAN DENETTE Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher J.A. Happ works against the Atlanta Braves during seventh inning Interleague baseball action in Toronto on Wednesday.