Blue Jays erupt for 5 runs in 5th, beat Mariners 7-2

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 11, 2017

TORONTO — Nelson Cruz returned with a bang Thursday night and, for two tours through the Toronto lineup, Seattle Mariners rookie Chase De Jong held his former club in check.

The third time was no charm.

The Blue Jays rocked De Jong for five two-out runs in the fifth inning and rolled to a 7-2 victory in the opener of a four-game weekend series at the Rogers Centre.

“It escalated pretty quickly,” De Jong said. “You get two outs relatively quick. Then it kind of got away from us pretty quickly there.”

The loss halted the Mariners’ four-game winning streak and dropped them back below .500 at 17-18. And, yes, their rotation remains an injury-depleted mess.

Ex-Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak supplied much of the damage against De Jong (0-3) with an RBI single in the first and a two-run single in the fifth before Steve Pearce unloaded a three-run homer.

Smoak also had a two-out homer in the seventh inning against Sam Gaviglio, who made his big-league debut in a mop-up role.

All this after the Mariners scratched Robinson Cano because of a sore right quadriceps muscle and played short-handed because Guillermo Heredia and Ariel Miranda arrived late due to paperwork issues at the Canadian border.

Not a good night.

De Jong, 23, should probably be pitching at Triple-A Tacoma, as the Mariners intended after acquiring him in a March 1 trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

That’s the logical progression after De Jong put together a strong season last year in Double-A. But the Mariners have four starters on the disabled list and, so, here he is.

After a rocky first inning, De Jong settled into an uneasy but effective groove in protecting a 2-1 lead. He fell behind a number of hitters but avoided problems until the fifth.

De Jong issued a two-out walk to Blue Jays leadoff hitter Kevin Pillar after jumping ahead 1-2 in the count by throwing two well-placed fastballs before missing on three straight off-speed pitches.

“It was 1-2 and I kind of picked and picked,” De Jong said. “My defense was making plays for me. I really should have been pitching to contact.”

After the walk, everything fell apart in a hurry.

A single by Ezequiel Carrera and a four-pitch walk to Jose Bautista loaded the bases for Smoak, who lined a first-pitch curve into center for a two-run single.

Pearce followed with a three-run homer.

“I shook to go fastball up,” De Jong said. “(I thought) he’s either going to pop it up or swing under it. I just got on top of it a little too much. I missed probably by three inches.

“If it’s three inches higher, that’s the pitch we want to execute. That’s on me. I didn’t hit the glove.”

It was a cookie. Pearce’s eyes widened on the swing.

Toronto led 6-2.

“It was growing pains tonight,” manager Scott Servais said. “He had two outs and nobody on in the fifth, a 1-2 count, and the walk to Pillar. It’s a hard lesson to learn.”

Servais called on lefty Zac Curtis, a fresh arm promoted earlier in the day from Double-A Arkansas, when the game went to the sixth inning. An inning later, the Mariners called on Gaviglio, promoted Wednesday from Tacoma.

Keep in mind, this wasn’t Toronto’s A-list lineup, either.

The Blue Jays played without Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin and Troy Tulowitzki, who are on the disabled list. Kendrys Morales didn’t play because of a strained left hamstring.

The Mariners aren’t the only team with injury problems.

The difference was Toronto starter Marco Estrada (2-2) steadied after serving up a two-homer to Cruz in the first inning. Aaron Loup, Jason Grilli and Leonel Campos closed out Toronto’s victory.

Cruz returned to the lineup after spending two games on pinch-hitting duty while the Mariners played with no designated hitter in Philadelphia. He gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead with a booming homer in the first inning.

De Jong gave one run back later in the inning and was lucky to limit it to that. Three of the first four Jays had singles, including Smoak’s RBI drive to center.