by Jerry Feitelberg

It was another tough day in Toronto for the A’s as the Jays beat them 4-2 to sweep the three-game series. Jesse Chavez pitched well but not well enough to win. He had one bad inning, the second. The Jays, for the third game in a row, scored enough runs to put the game away. Chavez went six innings allowing four runs on six hits. Chavez struck out nine but still came away with a loss. Jays’ starter, Mark Buehrle won his thirteenth game of the season. He went seven-plus innings, allowing seven hits and two runs.

The A’s had a chance to do damage in the first inning. They loaded the bases with no out, but could not score. Buehrle got out of the jam by getting Danny Valencia to hit into a 1-2-3 double play. He then retired Josh Phegley for the third out.

In the fateful second inning, Jays’ catcher Dioner Navarro singled with one out. He went to third on a long single to right off the bat of Justin Smoak. Kevin Pillar followed with the third hit in a row to drive in Navarro with the first run of the game. The next batter, Shortstop Ryan Goins, made Chavez and the A’s pay as he put a Chavez mistake into the right field seats for a three-run homer. Jays lead 4-0 after two.

Chavez settled down and kept the Jays off the board for the rest of the time he was in the game. He went six innings giving up just six hits and four runs. It was his twelfth loss of the year.

Buehrle was cruising until the top of the eighth. Marcus Semien led off with a single. He scored all the way from first when Billy Burns’ line drive got by Kevin Pillar for a triple. The Jays brought in Aaron Sanchez to pitch. He got A’s first baseman Mark Canha to ground out. Burns scored on the play, and that was all the A’s could do. Roberto Osuna closed out the game for Toronto. Jays win 4-2.

Game Notes- The red-hot Blue Jays won their eleventh game in a row and fourteenth of the last fifteen played and picked up 1/2 game on the New York Yankees. The Yankees play Cleveland later in the day.

The A’s announced that Sonny Gray was scratched from Thursday’s game due to back spasms, and he will not pitch Friday night in Baltimore. The A’s start a four-game series with the Orioles Friday night. Ubaldo Jiminez will pitch for the Orioles. Game time will be 4:05 pm.

Time of game was two hours and twenty-five minutes. 46,902 were in attendance.