Blue Jays rout Reds
Published 12:10 am Tuesday, May 30, 2017
TORONTO (AP) — Up and down the lineup, every single Blue Jays batter did his part to help prolong Marcus Stroman’s unbeaten streak.
Troy Tulowitzki hit his fourth career grand slam, Stroman won his fifth straight decision and the Toronto Blue Jays set a season-high in runs, routing the Cincinnati Reds 17-2 on Monday night.
Justin Smoak hit a three-run homer and Russell Martin added a two-run shot for the Blue Jays, who have 43 home runs in May.
Smoak had four RBIs while Martin went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a walk. Toronto’s 23 hits were a season-best. The Blue Jays had a franchise-high 25 hits against Texas on Aug. 9, 1999.
“It’s amazing,” Stroman said. “That shows you how capable we are of doing that on an every night basis. One through nine, we’re extremely strong.”
Ezequiel Carrera went 4-for-4 with a walk and Devon Travis had four hits, extending his hitting streak to 13, as the Blue Jays won for the sixth time in seven games. All nine Toronto starters scored at least one run.
“It could have been worse,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “Their third base coach was compassionate enough to not keep wheeling guys into score.”
Adam Duvall hit a solo home run for Cincinnati, his third homer in two games and fifth in the past five.
Stroman (6-2) allowed two runs in six innings, improving to 5-0 with a 2.96 ERA in his past eight starts. He has not lost since a home defeat to Boston on April 18.
“We had a huge night,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “So many guys had big, big nights and Stro was very good again.”
Dominic Leone pitched two innings of relief and J.P Howell finished.
Duvall hit an RBI single off Stroman in the first, but Reds right-hander Lisalverto Bonilla (0-3) didn’t hold the lead for long. Martin answered with a two-run shot in the second, his fourth.
Toronto broke it open with a five-run, bat-around third, highlighted by Tulowitzki’s grand slam off reliever Robert Stephenson. It was the second home run of the season for Tulowizki, who was activated off the disabled list last Friday.
“I got a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it and kind of broke the game open,” Tulowitzki said.
Smoak hit his team-leading 12th homer off Stephenson in the fourth.
Bonilla (0-3) matched a season-high by allowing six runs in 2 1/3 innings. He walked a season-worst five. and saw his ERA rise from 6.17 to 7.71.
“It was obvious that Bo didn’t have his really good stuff or command,” Price said. “He was behind a lot.”
Stephenson and fellow reliever Jake Buchanan each allowed 10 hits. Philadelphia was the last team to have two relievers allow 10 or more hits in a game, doing it in a 1929 loss to St. Louis.
WELCOME HOME
Before the game, Red slugger Joey Votto received the 2016 Tip O’Neill Award from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s the sixth time in eight years Votto has won the award, presented each year to baseball’s most deserving Canadian. Votto also caught the ceremonial first pitch, thrown by his former baseball coach.
HIT PARADE
It was the most hits allowed by the Reds since Atlanta had 25 in a May 1, 1985 game at Cincinnati.
DOUBLE YOUR FUN
Travis hit his ML-best 18th double. He has 16 doubles and an ML-leading 19 extra-base hits in May.
TWO FOR FOUR
The last pair of Blue Jays teammates to have four-hit nights in the same game were Munenori Kawasaki and Josh Thole, who did it against Baltimore on Sept. 25, 2013.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: RHP Homer Bailey (elbow surgery) pitched two innings in an extended spring training game Monday. … LHP Tony Cingrani (right oblique) pitched a hitless inning at Class-A Dayton.
Blue Jays: LHP J.A. Happ (elbow) will come off the DL to start against the Reds on Tuesday. … LHP Francisco Liriano (shoulder) allowed three runs, two earned, in 4 1/3 innings in his first rehab start at Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday night. Gibbons said Liriano could be activated off the DL to start against the Yankees this weekend. … OF Chris Coghlan (lower back spasms) was scratched from the starting lineup and replaced by Carrera.
UP NEXT
Reds: RHP Asher Wojciechowski (1-0, 2.25) makes his first start of the season Tuesday, and will face the team that drafted him in 2010. Wojciechowski will be the fifth rookie to starting pitcher used by the Reds this season.
Blue Jays: Happ has not pitched for Toronto since April 16. He allowed three runs and seven hits in three innings in a rehab start with Class A Dunedin last Thursday.