Happ gets 20th win, Jays take over 1st AL wild-card spot

Five games against fellow AL wild-card contenders Toronto and Houston have left the Mariners with a 1-4 record, and Seattle hasn’t looked good in the process.

The Toronto Blue Jays look for some consistency after splitting their last 12 games. All nine players in the Blue Jays’ starting lineup scored.Encarnacion hit his 42nd home run of the season – two behind American League leader Mark Trumbo – and drove in three runs.Robinson Cano went 2-for-4 and drove in the only two runs for the Mariners, who had seven hits in the loss and have now scored two runs or fewer in five of their past six games.The Blue Jays scored eight runs in the fourth inning – a frame that took almost 40 minutes to complete, highlighted by towering two-run home runs from Martin and Saunders as they rallied from a 2-0 deficit.Saunders, a former Mariner, broke a 2-2 tie with his 24th home run of the season, a 385-foot shot to right.

Toronto right-hander Marco Estrada had a no-hitter broken up when Seattle’s Robinson Cano led off the seventh inning with a single on Monday night. Seattle bounced Estrada and loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but Cano lined out against Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna to end the threat. Martin had a career-high 23 home runs in his first season as a Blue Jay a year ago. The Blue Jays then close the season with three games at first-place Boston. But neither of those teams have any games remaining against either of the teams they are chasing. The Mariners clawed back within three.

Toronto has what it takes to keep their spot in the wild card. However, they won their next eight games, averaging just 2.4 runs allowed per game over that span.

Earlier, goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 36 saves in Sweden’s 2-0 win over Finland.

The Mariners have scored two runs or fewer in five of their past six games, and their offense is running out of gas at a bad time. The Blue Jays and Mariners wrap up the three-game series Wednesday afternoon, when Toronto RHP Aaron Sanchez (13-2, 3.17 ERA) opposes Seattle RHP Felix Hernandez (11-6, 3.79 ERA).

Guillermo Heredia reached on a two-base throwing error by Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson to open the 12th. He is now 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 21 innings in his last three starts against Toronto. “This could be a little different than I expected.’ It’s just part of it, we have to deal with it”.

Jose Bautista spoiled a Felix Hernandez gem with a mammoth solo shot to left field with one out in the ninth off Edwin Diaz that tied the game 1-1 and things stayed there until the 12th when R.A. Dickey, the 10th Blue Jays pitcher of the day came on in relief, and fell victim to some poor defence.

“We scratched out a couple runs, get a big hit and finally get a lead, started getting some momentum our way”, Mariners manager Scott Servais said.

“Last year, yeah, maybe (there would be adrenaline)”, Sanchez said. Then again, the powerful core of the 2016 Mariners’ lineup is one new GM Jerry Dipoto inherited from Zduriencik, with Cano, Nelson Cruz and Seager all enjoying exceptional seasons. However, Zunino is just 1-for-15 over his last five games and has struck out in seven of his last nine plate appearances.

As disadvantaged as they may be against the lefty Happ, the next two nights are now must-wins for the Mariners. “The first two games here, we played really, really well”.