Stroman collects first victory

TORONTO The old Marcus Stroman — the swagger-filled, confidence-loaded, shimmy-shaking right-hander — returned on Friday night at Rogers Centre.

The Toronto starter earned his first win of the season with seven innings of five-hit ball as the Blue Jays held off the Detroit Tigers 3-2.

Stroman (1-5) was in form in his second start after a 39-game stint on the disabled list due to right shoulder fatigue. He allowed two earned runs, didn’t walk a batter and struck out four.

Perhaps more importantly, he had that oomph on the mound that was missing earlier this season.

“He looks like the old guy,” said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. “Everything is coming out better and he’s got a little strut going — like John Travolta.”

Justin Smoak hit a two-run homer as Toronto kicked off the four-game series by winning its ninth home game in 10 tries. Seunghwan Oh struck out the side in the eighth inning and Tyler Clippard worked the ninth for his fifth save.

Stroman, who threw five innings for a no-decision in his last start, was in control against the Tigers on a muggy summer evening.

“I feel great, I feel back to myself,” he said. “It’s a relief just being able to be myself out there, kind of do everything that I want to do out there without having to worry about it.”

He threw 65 of his 90 pitches for strikes.

“When he’s bowing his neck and sticking his chest out, that’s when he’s at his best,” Gibbons said. “That’s just who he is.”

Randal Grichuk had two of Toronto’s eight hits. The Blue Jays reached the season’s midway point with a 38-43 record.

Detroit (36-47), which extended its losing streak to a season-high 10 games, managed six hits in all. It’s the Tigers’ first 10-game skid in almost 15 years.

“The guys are really trying,” said Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire. “They’re bothered out there and they’re frustrated and they want to win. The guys are really pushing hard in the dugout but it’s just not happening right now.”