Las Vegas Review-Journal

Add to winning streak

Encarnacio­n, Johnson spark Toronto rout, sweep of Orioles

- By IAN HARRISON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TORONTO — These are the Blue Jays that Edwin Encarnacio­n expected after a busy offseason.

Encarnacio­n homered and drove in four runs, Josh Johnson got his first win of the season, and Toronto tied a team record by winning its 11th straight game Sunday, finishing a three-game sweep of Baltimore with a 13-5 victory.

The Blue Jays are 28-15 since May 2, when they were a seasonwors­t 10-21. They have won 15 of their past 18, outscoring their opponents 102-52.

“I’ve been waiting for this since the season started,” Encarnacio­n said. “I believe in this team, so I knew things had to change, things had to become good for us. That’s the way right now, and we enjoy it, enjoy the moment. I’m not surprised by this.”

Toronto has swept three consecutiv­e series for the first time since 1998, the last time it won 11 straight games. The Blue Jays also won 11 in a row in 1987.

“Everybody is doing their job, everybody is pitching in,” Johnson said. “It’s been impressive.”

Before a sellout crowd of 45,214, Toronto became the first team since Detroit in 2011 to win 11 straight.

“We’re feeling pretty good about ourselves,” manager John Gibbons said. “We shut down a really good team over there.”

The Blue Jays, who start a threegame series at Tampa Bay today, have not lost since a 10-6 defeat at the Chicago White Sox on June 10.

“A lot of guys have been in a good rhythm at the same time, which is kind of what we didn’t have to start the season,” catcher J.P. Arencibia said.

Baltimore’s Ryan Flaherty hit two homers, but the Orioles lost for the fifth time in eight games and allowed a season high in runs.

“We ran into a good team and came up short,” Flaherty said.

Johnson (1-2) was winless in his first seven starts with Toronto, getting only 13 total runs of support. That changed Sunday, as the Blue Jays helped the right-hander with an early offensive barrage, scoring nine times in the first three innings.

Johnson allowed four runs and seven hits in six-plus innings, walked one and struck out five. He’s 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in four starts since missing 31 games with a right triceps injury, and he has struck out 25 in his past 25 1/3 innings.

“It’s not an easy lineup to face, regardless of the score,” Gibbons said. “That’s another good outing for him. That’s one win. Getting on the board so you’ve got something to show for it always makes you feel good.”

Flaherty hit a two-run shot off Johnson in the seventh and a solo homer off Dustin McGowan in the ninth for his first career multihomer game. He has five home runs this season.

With first base open, the Blue Jays intentiona­lly walked Orioles slugger Chris Davis to load the bases for Matt Wieters in the first, but Johnson got Wieters to foul out.

“Every time you turn on the highlights he’s doing some damage somewhere,” Gibbons said of Davis. “We’ve seen plenty of that. That’s key, getting out of that first inning without any runs.”

Arencibia was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom half to drive in the game’s first run.

The Blue Jays used small ball and the long ball to score three more in the second. Emilio Bonifacio led off with a bunt single over the head of Baltimore starter Freddy Garcia, stole second and went to third on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on Melky Cabrera’s sacrifice fly. Jose Bautista walked and Encarnacio­n followed with a first-pitch homer to left.

Toronto blew it open with a fiverun, bat-around third.

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