Encarnacion hits 2 HRs, drives in 5, Blue Jays beat Orioles

It was just one bad inning, really.

“They’d been throwing to me outside all day so I just tried to make an adjustment and it worked”, Encarnacion said.

“That’s why they’re good and that’s why they’re healthy”, Showalter said, acknowledging that Baltimore may have to call up reinforcements for Sunday’s series finale.

Fans of the Blue Jays may have noticed Edwin Encarnacion’s penchant for smelling his bat after he hits a foul ball.

Machado also doubled and singled and scored three times.

But unusual things happen when the Orioles and Blue Jays meet in Toronto, especially inside the hitter-friendly open-air dome. He was hit by a pitch on the knee in the opener and missed the next two games. It certainly helps us a bunch and it starts rubbing off on the rest of us too.

“That was a good win”.

Encarnacion snapped an 0-for-19 slump by ending Friday’s game with a leadoff homer in the 10th.

Joseph has held his own against right-handed pitching, going 12 for 44 (.273) with four homers and two doubles. Bautista could return Saturday as Toronto sends J.A. Happ to the mound against Mike Wright after Baltimore saw its five-game winning streak come to an end.

Acquired to fill either a key relief role or as a swing man, Chavez struggled with his command early in the season but he has suddenly clicked as a go-to reliever.

“We outlasted them”, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “The sky’s not falling”. So we feel good today, that’s for sure.

Four of Baltimore’s homers came at the expense of Aaron Sanchez, 6-1, Toronto’s shell-shocked starter who exited after that rocky fifth and still qualified for the rather cheap victory. He is 5-for-7 with two home runs against Sanchez.

Current Phillies have gone 31 for 139 (.223) against Strasburg with two homers, nine walks and 47 strikeouts.

Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (3-7) allowed five runs and six hits in 1-3 of an inning, the shortest start of his career.

He said he was burned by the free passes, and also offered mixed reviews of Encarnacion.

“He’s one of the best hitters I think I’ve faced”, Wright said.

The Blue Jays triumphed in the final three games of their series with Baltimore and hope to take advantage of the Phillies, who have dropped four in a row and 13 of 16. Pedro Alvarez drilled a solo blast in the fourth, his seventh, and the Orioles hit three more in the fifth. It marked just the fifth win in franchise history when allowing five homers – the last time was May 3, 1999, at Seattle. Donaldson hit the go-ahead sacrifice fly against McFarland who then allowed Encarnacion’s decisive three-run homer in a five-run sixth.

Right-hander Joe Biagini could not retire a batter in the eighth, allowing singles to Rickard and Machado, a walk to Davis and an RBI single to Mark Trumbo.

Pinch-hitter Devon Travis tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left.

Jason Grilli worked a scoreless ninth for Toronto.

In all, the Blue Jays took 41 players over the course of the three days, 24 from university or junior colleges and 17 from high school.

Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista is back in the lineup at designated hitter for Monday’s game against Philadelphia after missing the previous three because of a sore right thigh.

Centre-fielder Odubel Herrera leads the way with a.312 average and is running away with the team lead in walks with 39. The Canadian pitched for Minnesota from 2011-13. Prospect Anthony Alford suffered a concussion in a game Friday night.

The teams are familiar with each other because of the proximity of their Florida spring training sites with the Blue Jays in Dunedin, which is adjacent to Clearwater, where the Phillies train. Alford had to be removed from the field on a stretcher.

Moore (3-4) matched his season high with 10 strikeouts, equaled his longest outing and set a season low for hits and runs – this after getting only one win in his previous nine starts.