The Associated Press
Tim Booth
SEATTLE–Over three days that felt more like home games, the Toronto Blue Jays got depth from its starting pitching and, of course, another handful of home runs to find themselves back on the cusp of finally reaching the break-even mark.
Josh Donaldson hit a two-run homer in the first inning and finished with three RBIs, and J.A. Happ rediscovered the form that made him a 20-game winner last season with six shutout innings, as the Jays blanked the Seattle Mariners 4-0 yesterday afternoon.
Donaldson and the Jays knocked out Seattle starter James Paxton (5-1) after just four innings, handing him his first loss of the season and sending the thousands of Toronto fans from western Canada back north of the border after their team won two of three this weekend.
Toronto is 13-6 over its past 19 games, is 31-32 for the season, and within a game of .500 for the third time since the opening week.
Donaldson went opposite-field for his eighth homer of the season on a 2-0 pitch.
He finished with three hits, including an RBI single in the fourth for a 3-0 lead.
Toronto has hit home runs in 33-of-38 games since the start of May.
Kendrys Morales also had an RBI single in the fourth.
“It was good to see we scored other ways than the home run,” said Jays’ manager John Gibbons.
Happ (1-4) picked up his first win of the season in impressive fashion, skating around Seattle getting runners into scoring position but never allowed the big hit.
Seattle twice had runners at third base with two outs, but Happ struck out Taylor Motter to end the second inning and then got a groundout from Kyle Seager to end the third.
Happ allowed six hits but struck out eight in getting his first win since last Sept. 20.
Toronto used six relievers to finish off its fourth shutout of the season, with closer Roberto Osuna getting Mitch Haniger for the final out and his 16th save.
“I felt strong out there,” said Happ, who made his third start since missing more than a month with elbow issues.
“I felt like I had probably more life than I had in my first two outings in my fastball today and I still felt strong,” he added.
“That’s a good sign for sure.”
Seattle was shut out for the sixth time.
Paxton was trying to become the eighth starting pitcher in club history to win his first six decisions of the season, but was off from the start.
He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning, but had just one clean inning before getting pulled after the fourth.
Paxton allowed eight hits and walked three. He has pitched more than 5 1/3 innings just once since April 15.
“I just didn’t feel great today,” Paxton admitted. “I had a hard time finding my timing, my rhythm.
“I just didn’t have a plan for getting myself where I needed to be.”
After an off day today, the Jays open a series at home with Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Marco Estrada (4-4) starts the series opener.
Elsewhere in the AL, N.Y. Yankees routed Baltimore 14-3, Cleveland doubled Chicago 4-2, Tampa Bay edged Oakland 5-4, L.A. dumped Houston 12-6, and Detroit beat Boston 8-3.
Over in the NL, New York nipped Atlanta 2-1, Pittsburgh downed Miami 3-1, St. Louis shaded Philadelphia 6-5, Chicago beat Colorado 7-5, Arizona dumped Milwaukee 11-1, and L.A. topped Cincinnati 9-7
San Francisco pounded Minnesota 13-8, Texas beat Washington 5-1, and Kansas City downed San Diego 8-3 in interleague play.
