The Blue Jays’ bats are fine, thanks.
After a listless showing a night earlier, the Jays beat up on the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday afternoon at the Rogers Centre, powering their way to an 11-3 victory on the back of four home runs and a fine pitching performance by Marcus Stroman.
Josh Donaldson hit a grand slam, stroked two doubles, drew a walk and scored three runs to go with five RBIs as the Jays moved to five games over .500, improving to 36-31. The Phillies, who beat the Jays 7-0 on Monday when Toronto had nothing happening at the plate, dropped to 30-35.
The teams will meet in Philadelphia on Wednesday and Thursday for a two-game set. Following that, the Jays will head to Baltimore for a three-game weekend set against the Orioles.
Before a sellout crowd of 47,066, including thousands of school kids, Stroman (6-2) went seven innings, scattering six hits and walking one. He struck out six and allowed two runs, both earned.
Aaron Loup pitched the eighth and gave up a run. Gavin Floyd pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.
Toronto left-fielder Michael Saunders was taken out of the game as a precaution in the third inning after he experienced tightness in his right hamstring.
The Jays destroyed Phillies starter Zach Eflin in his major-league debut.
The 22-year-old Eflin lasted just 2 2/3 innings, giving up nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits.
It looked good for Eflin for about a minute when he struck out the first batter he faced in the majors, Jays slugger Jose Bautista.
That’s when the fun stopped for the six-foot-six, 215-pound Eflin, who was 5-2 in the minors with Lehigh Valley.
Donaldson was up next and laced a double to right field. Two batters later, Russell Martin singled home Donaldson.
The Jays scored two more runs in the second. Kevin Pillar led off with a solo homer, his fifth round-tripper of the season.
After Bautista reached on an error by third baseman Andres Blanco with two out, Donaldson hit his second double to score Bautista.
It got ugly in the Jays’ half of the third.
Martin walked after Saunders flied out to start the inning. Ezequiel Carrera was up next and homered to right, the second time this season he has hit the ball out of the park.
Pillar and Devon Travis rapped back-to-back singles. Ryan Goins flied out to centre field, advancing Pillar and Travis.
Bautista was issued a walk to load the bases.
Donaldson sent a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left field for his second grand slam in 2016 and third of his career.
Eflin’s day mercilessly ended after Edwin Encarnacion, back in the Jays’ starting lineup after missing Monday’s game with a jammed right index finger, hit a ground-rule double immediately after Donaldson’s big hit.
All the while, Stroman was setting down the Phillies quickly. Stroman retired the first eight Philadelphia batters he saw, and it took an infield hit by Peter Bourjos with two out in the third for the visitors to get on base.
Not that the Phillies could make anything of it. Bourjos was thrown out by Martin trying to steal second, though it took a Jays challenge to get the proper call on the play. Bourjos initially was called safe, but the replay clearly showed Goins applying the tag before Bourjos’ foot hit the bag. The Jays didn’t bother waiting for the review to end, as they trotted off the field when the replay was shown on the outfield scoreboard.
The Phillies scored in the sixth inning when Jimmy Paredes, traded by Toronto to Philadelphia on June 1, doubled home Bourjos, who had led off with a triple.
Stroman then walked Freddy Galvis, but recorded three consecutive outs to escape further damage.
Philadelphia scored its second run in the seventh when Cesar Hernandez hit a solo shot off Stroman.
The Jays responded in their half of the seventh when Encarnacion belted a two-run homer to centre with one out.