Stroman’s first homer helps Jays blast Braves

ATLANTA — Marcus Stroman threw 52/3 strong innings and hit the second homer by a pitcher in Blue Jays history to lead Toronto over the Atlanta Braves 9-0 on Thursday night.

Darrell Ceciliani, recalled from triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday, had a runscoring double in the first and a tworun homer in the third before leaving with a left shoulder injury. Ceciliani started in centre field after Kevin Pillar was suspended two games without pay for yelling an anti-gay slur at Braves reliever Jason Motte during Wednesday night’s game.

Braves starter Julio Teheran hit Jose Bautista with a pitch in the first inning, a day after Bautista’s bat flip following a home run drew criticism from the Braves. Teheran’s first pitch to Bautista was inside. The second pitch hit Bautista’s thigh. Bautista walked to first base as home plate umpire Paul Emmel issued warnings to both benches.

Teheran (3-4) allowed a career-high nine runs in three-plus innings in his fourth straight home loss.

The Braves, who scored eight or more runs in three straight wins over Toronto with Freddie Freeman in the lineup, saw their offence disappear after learning the first baseman will miss about 10 weeks with a fractured left wrist. Freeman was hurt when hit by a pitch from Toronto’s Aaron Loup in Wednesday night’s 8-4 win over the Blue Jays.

Kendrys Morales drove in two runs with four hits. Luke Maile and Stroman hit back-to-back homers in the fourth. Stroman’s first career homer was the first by a Toronto pitcher since Mark Hendrickson’s shot against Montreal on June 21, 2003.

Stroman (4-2) allowed seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts in 52/3 innings. He improved to 6-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 12 career interleague games, including nine starts.

Dwight Smith Jr. was recalled from triple-A Buffalo to replace Pillar on the roster. Smith entered the game in the third when Ceciliani left.