Toronto Blue Jays win 6th straight: Let the good times roll!

The Toronto Blue Jays have won six straight ball games. The bats led the charge on Monday night as the Jays topped the Miami Marlins 11-3 at the Rogers Centre.

A hot start left the Toronto Blue Jays ahead 6-0 after the first inning as they chased Marlins starter Brad Hand after recording just two outs. That was more than enough for Marco Estrada, who turned in another quality outing as he continues to stabilize the fifth spot in the rotation.

82. 11. 39. Final. 3

Game Notes:

Danny Valencia earned the start at third base, sliding Josh Donaldson into the DH slot and giving his legs a day off the turf. This could be something we see a little more of through July and August.

The scoring was kicked off by Chris Colabello, who continues to stare statistical regression in the eye and laugh. Following singles by Jose Reyes and Jose Bautista in the first inning, Colabello clubbed an RBI single to left-centre field to extend his hitting streak to 18 games.

Toronto’s big first inning continued when Danny Valencia missed a grand slam by inches, slamming a two-run double off the wall.

Kevin Pillar

would then plate two runs of his own with a line-drive single to left field. Following a steal from Pillar, he was brought around by a

Munenori Kawasaki

double. If something

could

happen in the first, it did.

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Josh Donaldson continues to bring the rain. His home run in the second inning was a no-doubter and opened the lead to 7-0.

A strange scene in the bottom of the second as John Gibbons was ejected for…something? It seemed at first like first base umpire Angel Hernandez had tossed Jose Bautista, who had just struck out. With such a comfortable lead at that point, we can chalk this up to Hernandez’s ego being bigger than the moment. Regardless: Happy Birthday, Gibby!

Marco Estrada lost his shutout in the fourth inning when Giancarlo Stanton launched a two-run shot deep to right-centre. It was Stanton’s third career hit against Estrada, all of which have been home runs.

Russell Martin then scored on a throwing error as Ezequiel Carrera attempted to steal second, moving the Jays’ lead to 8-2. Carrera’s speed tool is a real plus, so it’s good to see him pushing that part of his game when given the opportunity.

Not that the Blue Jays needed it, but Josh Donaldson’s bases-loaded single in the seventh pushed them into double digits for the 10th time this season.

Doubles were the weapon of choice tonight as the Blue Jays recorded four (Valencia 2, Kawasaki, Carrera).

B+. Estrada picked up his second win in a row and looked absolutely fine. His changeup was locked in all game long as he allowed just three earned runs over 7.0 innings pitched with six strikeouts and zero walks.Estrada has yet to have a dominant outing, but he continues to give the Jays a consistent performance that keeps the bats in the ball game. With <a href=. Game Ball. Marco Estrada. STARTING PITCHING

HITTING . A+. Donaldson chipped in another big night at the plate on Monday, going 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI’s. His average now sits at .310 and his production will become especially valuable if <a href=. Game Ball. Josh Donaldson

BULLPEN . A. Delabar entered in the 8th inning for Marco Estrada but still didn’t look fully comfortable on the mound. A double to Giancarlo Stanton was followed by a deep fly-out to the base of the wall, but with the current state of the bullpen, perhaps we shouldn’t complain about scoreless innings from the bullpen. <a href=. Game Ball. Steve Delabar, Ryan Tepera

MVJ: Kevin Pillar

After being the hot ticket in Toronto throughout April, Pillar saw his star fall recently as his bat fell asleep and his his average plummeted. Monday was another great showing from the centre-fielder, though, as he seems to be bouncing back. More important than Pillar’s two hits for two RBI’s was his two walks. Plate vision has long been an issue with Pillar, so a multi-walk game is extremely encouraging.

Next: Bautista takes Blue Jays Player of the Week

Game Notes:

MVJ: Kevin Pillar

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