Smoak’s sixth-inning homer helps Blue Jays beat Tigers, 8-4

DETROIT — Justin Smoak’s sixthinning homer broke a scoreless tie and the Toronto Blue Jays ended their five-game losing streak with an 8-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers in American League baseball action

Sunday afternoon.

Aaron Sanchez (3-5) pitched six innings and ended a five-start winless streak, giving up one run on two hits and three walks while striking out seven.

Michael Fulmer (2-5) allowed four runs on five hits and three walks in six-plus innings, striking out three.

Sanchez and Fulmer kept the game scoreless through five innings.

Fulmer walked Yangervis Solante with two outs in the sixth, and Smoak hit a 3-2 fastball over the scoreboard in rightcentre field to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead.

Leonys Martin led off the bottom of the inning with his seventh homer to make it 2-1.

Fulmer gave up a single and a walk to start the seventh, and was replaced by Warwick Saupold.

Devon Travis hit the ball to the wall in right, but Nicholas Castellanos made a leaping catch at the wall.

Kevin Pillar took third on the play and scored on Randal Grichuk’s double, giving the Blue Jays a two-run lead.

Aledmys Diaz put Toronto ahead by three runs with an RBI single, and Solarte made it 5-1 with a two-out hit.

The Blue Jays got a bad break when Smoak’s 414-foot double bounced off the centre-field fence — Solarte would have scored easily from first — but Diaz’s run gave Toronto a 6-1 lead.

Trainer’s room

Blue Jays: OF Teoscar Hernandez (foot) did not play. He left Saturday’s game after fouling a ball off his left foot, but is expected to return early next week. Tigers: C James McCann left the game after six innings with what the team described as a left-sided intercostal spasm.

Getting on base

Tigers 3B Jeimer Candelario walked in the fourth inning to extend his on-base streak to 28 games. That ties him for the 10thlongest streak by a Tiger since 2001.

Up next

Both teams are preparing to play the New York Yankees. The Tigers host New York in a doubleheader on Monday, and the Yankees then head to Canada.

DUANE BURLESON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Toronto Blue Jays’ Randal Grichuk celebrates with teammates after hitting a two-run home run against the Tigers Sunday afternoon in Detroit. The Blue Jays won, 8-4, snapping a five-game losing streak.