Villanueva gives Jays just what they need

If they could get beyond the fifth inning with their starter, the 10th different one this season, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell thought his team would be “in really positive territory.” And he was correct. Carlos Villanueva made his first start of the season — ushered out of the bullpen because of injuries to Brandon Morrow, Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison and ineffectiveness from others who tried to fill the space — and went five solid innings to help the Blue Jays snap a three-game losing streak with a 7-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Rogers Centre on Friday night.

Adam Lind hit his first home run since he was recalled from Triple-a on Monday, a giant shot over a distant stretch of fence in centre. He added another in the eighth inning for his first multihomer game of the season, and the eighth of his career.

Casey Janssen earned the save, but not after a rickety start on the hill, fighting back from a 3-1 count to get a groundout from Erick Aybar. Pitching, after all, has become a dominant storyline of the season in Toronto.

On Friday, Foxsports.com reporter Ken Rosenthal suggested the Blue Jays are still in the market to acquire, rather than shed, a big-name player. He said the team has been “maintaining contact” with the Chicago Cubs over the potential availability of righthanded starter Matt Garza.

Toronto acquired the most veteran of veteran pitchers Monday, signing 49-year-old left-hander Jamie Moyer to a minor league contract. He made his Las Vegas debut Thursday, allowing three runs on seven hits over five innings — while striking out six.

He will have at least one more start in Las Vegas before a decision is made on his future with the big team. Farrell said that if Moyer does land in Toronto, it would be as a starter, and not coming out of the bullpen.

Nobody had to come out of the bullpen until the sixth inning on Friday. Villanueva twice allowed leadoff hits, but generally fared pretty well against the Angels, who entered the game as the highestscoring team in baseball for the month of June.

Toronto, tied for sixth, provided five runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by that three-run shot from Lind.

Villanueva ceded the mound to Scott Richmond at the start of the sixth, having allowed three runs off seven hits over five innings. He also struck out six and left after making 92 pitches.

Villanueva left the game with a lead, but it was not long before it was gone. Catcher John Hester tied the game at 5-5 with a two-run home run off of Richmond in the seventh that, at its peak of its flight, seemed level with the CN Tower’s observation deck.

Yunel Escobar restored a lead for Toronto in the home half of the inning, sending a shot to the corner in right that scored Edwin Encarnacion.