ANAHEIM, California (AP) Edwin Encarnacion had four hits from four at bats with a homer and four RBIs as the Toronto Blue Jays completed a thunderous three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday with a 12-5 victory that vaulted them back into first place in the AL East.
The Jays’ 16th victory in 19 games, coupled with the Yankees’ 4-3 loss to Cleveland, put Toronto atop the division for the first time since Aug. 13.
The Blue Jays, who lead the majors by far with 670 runs, set a franchise record for a three-game series with 36. They totaled 48 hits against a vanquished Angels pitching staff that has surrendered 44 runs, 60 hits and 15 walks over their last four games.
Cleveland slugger Francisco Lindor homered off Dellin Betances in the eighth and Trevor Bauer threw 6 1/3 strong innings as the Indians beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on Andy Pettitte Day in the Bronx.
Carlos Santana homered off Sabathia for the Indians, who have won five of their last six games at Yankee Stadium. CC Sabathia departed in the third inning with right knee pain.
In San Diego, Michael Wacha pitched six solid innings and Stephen Piscotty homered twice and drove in five runs to help the St. Louis Cardinals down the Padres 10-3 and avoid a three-game sweep.
Jason Heyward had three hits as St. Louis averted getting swept for the first time this season.
The Seattle Mariners also avoided a three-game sweep after Robinson Cano had a two-run homer and Nelson Cruz doubled in two runs for an 8-6 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Seattle built a 7-1 lead through five innings, but the White Sox cut it to 7-6 with five runs in the sixth behind a pair of two-run homers.
The Oakland Athletics defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 8-2 after Eric Sogard hit a tiebreaking two-run single as part of a seven-run seventh inning.
Mark Canha tripled and drove in four runs while Billy Burns added three hits for the A’s, who won for just the third time in 12 games.
New York’s Logan Verrett stepped into Matt Harvey’s spot and earned his first major league win in his first start, pitching eight impressive innings to lead the Mets past the Colorado Rockies 5-1, while Trevor Plouffe hit a tying single with two outs in the ninth inning as the Minnesota Twins edged the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 over 12 innings.
In other games, Kris Bryant homered twice as the Chicago Cubs downed the Atlanta Braves 9-3, the Houston Astros completed a 10th-inning 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Kansas City Royals defeated the Boston Red Sox 8-6 and the Washington Nationals trounced the Milwaukee Brewers 9-5.
The Texas Rangers held onto the second AL wild-card spot with a 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers, the Arizona Diamondbacks blanked the Cincinnati Reds 4-0, the Philadelphia Phillies shut out the Miami Marlins 2-0 and the Pittsburgh Pirates were 5-2 winners over the San Francisco Giants.
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