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Edwin Encarnacion extended his hitting streak to 24 games with three home runs and nine runs-batted-in as the Toronto Blues Jays tamed the Detroit Tigers 15-1 on Saturday in Toronto.
The Jays’ cleanup batter capped his impressive Major League Baseball afternoon with a grand slam homer in the seventh inning, crushing the ball over the wall in right-centre to put Toronto up 13-1. It was Encarnacion’s fourth multihomer game of the season.
The 32-year-old right-handed hitter tagged a three-run shot in the first inning to spot the home team an early 3-0 lead. After Josh Donaldson singled and Jose Bautista walked, Encarnacion took a 1-1 curveball from Detroit starter Buck Farmer deep to left field, marking the 24th consecutive game in which he has recorded a hit. It's the longest Blue Jays hitting streak since Scott Rolen had a hit in 25 straight games in 2009.
Encarnacion was at it again in the sixth, when he laced a frozen-rope, two-run shot just over the wall in left to give the Blue Jays a 9-1 lead.
The homers gave Encarnacion his sixth three-plus RBI game in his last 17 contests, and he's driven in 23 runs in his last seven games. Of Encarnacion's last 78 hits, 41 have gone for extra bases.
Donaldson also collected three hits, driving n two runs, while second baseman Ryan Goins added another three hits to the Jays’ 18-hit attack.
Drew Hutchison improved to 13-2 with the pitching win. He went seven innings, scattering six hits and striking out seven Tigers.
With their 20th win in the past 24 games, the Jays sit atop the American League East Division with the best record in baseball (73-56), two games up on the New York Yankees.
They’ve climbed to 17 games over .500 for the first time since the final day of the 1993 season.
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