ANGELS AND MERCY
Morales delivers in pinch with club’s fourth homer in series finale vs. Angels Sam Gaviglio helped the Blue Jays win in his first start as a new dad.
Curtis Granderson socked one of four Blue Jays homers in Sunday’s win for a split of their series in Anaheim, where the visitors took the good with the bad.
Pinch-hitter Kendrys Morales’ solo home run in the 10th inning — the Blue Jays’ fourth long ball of the day — was the difference in a 7-6 victory over the Angels for a split of their four-game series in Anaheim.
Devon Travis hit a three-run homer to the opposite field in the second inning, while Aledmys Diaz and Curtis Granderson launched solo shots in the sixth.
Sam Gaviglio, who didn’t miss a start despite going on paternity leave this past week, left with two out in the fifth, charged with three Angels runs on five hits. With the Jays up 6-3 in the eighth, the home side tied it up with three unearned runs thanks in part to throwing errors by Travis and Yangervis Solarte. In the end, though, there was no harm done. The same can’t be said for a bruising series overall, especially in the pitching department.
PITCHING PROBLEMS
The Jays’ starting staff took one step forward and two steps back in Anaheim. Marcus Stroman returned after six weeks off with a shoulder injury and got the start on Saturday. With five scoreless innings in a 4-1 win, Stroman carved his ERA to less than seven (6.80) for the first time this season. Before the game, though, the Jays put rotation regulars Aaron Sanchez (finger) and Jaime Garcia (shoulder) on the 10-day disabled list. Sanchez left Thursday’s series opener after one in- ning and 25 pitches, allowing two runs in an eventual 8-5 defeat. Gaviglio, pitching in Garcia’s spot on Sunday, struggled the second time through the order after retiring the first 11 Angels he faced. The Jays had yet to announce who will take Sanchez’s place Tuesday against the Astros in Houston.
LEFTY TROUBLE
Losses in the first two games in Anaheim came against lefthanders John Lamb and Andrew Heaney. The Jays are hitting just .227 — and have lost 13 of their last 14 (9-20 overall) — against lefty starters.
OUTFIELD SHUFFLE
With the return of Steve Pearce, activated Friday after missing more than seven weeks with an oblique strain, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons had decisions to make in the outfield. Kevin Pillar started all four games of the series, while Pearce, Granderson, Teoscar Hernandez and Randal Grichuk each got at least one day off. Pillar struggled at the plate — 2-for-17 with a pair of doubles and four strikeouts — but did notch assists in each of the last two games.
TRADE BAIT
Righty Marco Estrada, a possible trade target for contenders, has given up just five earned runs in his last four starts and pitched 252⁄ innings in June with a 1.75 ERA. With a surplus of outfielders, Pearce might also draw interest if he stays healthy and keeps hitting. Pearce went 5-for-11 in the series, including the game-winning three-run homer on Saturday.