Blue Jays demote Kevin Pillar, recall Bobby Korecky

The Canadian Press Posted: Jun 11, 2014 11:57 AM ET Last Updated: Jun 11, 2014 11:57 AM ET

The Toronto Blue Jays have recalled right-handed pitcher Bobby Korecky from triple-A Buffalo and optioned outfielder Kevin Pillar to the Bisons.

Korecky has appeared in one game for the Blue Jays this season, working 1 1/3 scoreless innings against the Kansas City Royals on May 30.

He is 3-1 with six saves and a 0.26 earned-run average in 25 games at Buffalo.

Pillar is batting .243 in 24 games with Toronto with no home runs and two runs batted in.

He singled home the winning run in the ninth inning of Monday's 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Pillar, who bats right, has been used mainly in centre field along with Anthony Gose while incumbent centre-fielder Colby Rasmus recovers from a sore right hamstring.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons says he didn't expect to use Pillar in the next several days as the Blue Jays continue a stretch of six straight games against right-handed starters.

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Blue Jays get behind early again, drop opener to Orioles

The Toronto Blue Jays have hit a rough patch offensively, leaving their pitchers precious little margin for error.

Mark Buehrle struggled early against the Baltimore Orioles, and the Blue Jays never recovered in a 4-2 loss Thursday night.

Buehrle (10-3) yielded four runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings to lose his second straight start following a six-game winning streak. The left-hander allowed three runs or fewer in 12 of his previous 13 starts.

Toronto has lost three straight and five of six. The Blue Jays have scored only four runs in those four defeats.

"When we were winning, we'd give up two runs in the first inning and bounce right back, say, `Who cares? We're going to score,"' Buehrle said. "But right now that's not happening. We have to do a better job throwing up a zero in the first few innings to give us a chance to score a run and build some confidence."

Baltimore needed just two at-bats to take a 2-0 lead. Nick Markakis led off with a single and the seldom-used Delmon Young sent a changeup into the seats in left field, his first home run since April 8, and only the fourth against Buehrle this season.

It was the eighth straight game in which Toronto allowed the opposition to score first.

"It seems like we've gone out as starting pitchers have given up runs in the first inning," Buehrle noted. "When your offence is struggling to score runs ... it kind of seems it's taking the wind right out of our sails."

Kevin Gausman (2-1) allowed five hits, walked three and struck out three over six innings in his second consecutive solid outing. The 2012 first-round draft pick stymied Oakland on June 7, after being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk and now appears to be a fixture in the starting rotation.

"He's done what it takes to be considered," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "He's taking care of his end of it."

Gausman, 23, has given up only two runs in 13 innings during his latest stint with Baltimore.

"I feel good about what I've done. I feel comfortable right now," Gausman said. "Whatever happens is going to be for the club's best interest."

Zach Britton worked the ninth for his sixth save. The victory wasn't secured, however, until a replay review confirmed the final out on a double-play grounder.

After Young got Baltimore started in the first inning, Baltimore made it 3-0 in the third. Manny Machado led off with a double to end an 0-for-18 skid and Caleb Joseph delivered an RBI single.

Toronto got a run in the fifth when Juan Francisco doubled and came home on a single by Melky Cabrera. The double ended Baltimore's string of 23 innings without allowing an extra-base hit, and the run snapped the Orioles' streak of 19 consecutive scoreless innings.

That would be the only flaw in an otherwise solid performance by Gausman, who was 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA in his previous four appearances against Toronto.

"Gausman was good tonight," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He's got that overpowering fastball. He was keeping it in the zone. I think in the past he's had some control issues, but it's all coming together for him."

Doubles by Jonathan Schoop and Markakis put Baltimore up 4-1 in the seventh, and Toronto got a run off Ryan Webb in the eighth when Jose Bautista doubled, stole third and scored on a groundout by Adam Lind.

Baltimore will send Ubaldo Jimenez (2-7) to the mound Friday night in the second game of the series. Jimenez is 0-5 with a 7.04 ERA in six home starts.

Drew Hutchison (4-4) will start for Toronto.

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Blue Jays whipped again by Twins

The Toronto Blue Jays want to put a couple of series losses behind them as they head out for a 10-game road trip that should give them a good idea of whether they're actually ready to be a contender in the American League East.

Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss.

Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. Twins starter Phil Hughes (7-2) struck out nine and allowed seven hits over seven shutout innings.

Game notes

Announced attendance was 45,080.  … Jays reliever Bobby Korecky's callup from the Buffalo Bisons was announced Wednesday morning and he was sent back down after the game. The Blue Jays also optioned outfielder Kevin Pillar to the Bisons and recalled outfielder Darin Mastroianni. … Twins second baseman Brian Dozier left the game in the fourth inning due to tightness in his lower back. He was replaced at second base by Eduardo Escobar and is listed as day to day. … Toronto will kick off a four-game series at Baltimore on Thursday night. Left-hander Mark Buehrle (10-2, 2.04 ERA) is scheduled to start against right-hander Kevin Gausman (1-1, 4.91).

— The Canadian Press

With the loss, Toronto's lead atop the division standings fell to five games over Baltimore and New York. The Orioles were home to Boston on Wednesday night while the Yankees were in Seattle.

The Blue Jays will play Baltimore and New York next week before closing out their trip against the Cincinnati Reds.

"We'll see how good we are," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "We're playing a couple good teams in our division. We've got a small little lead on them but they're right there. So we need to play good baseball on this road trip, especially the way the last four or five games have gone.

"For our psyche more than anything else we need to regroup and put a couple good ball games together."

Toronto (39-28) has been giving up early leads of late, with the opposition scoring first for the seventh straight time Wednesday.

Danny Santana opened the game with a single off Marcus Stroman (3-1), who was making his third career start. The leadoff man scored when Willingham turned on a 1-2 pitch and put it into the second deck.

"It was just a bad pitch," Stroman said. "It was probably the worst pitch of the outing. It was just one of those that was supposed to be buried but it just kind of hung up there. I tried to do too much with it."

'There's no doubt we've cooled off with the bats. But that can turn in one day, that can turn overnight. But I do think it's going to be good to get out on the road.'- Blue Jays manager John Gibbons

The Blue Jays starter allowed three earned runs and nine hits while striking out four. Triple-A callup Bobby Korecky replaced him in the seventh and loaded the bases before Morales cleared them with a three-run double.

Toronto avoided the embarrassment of a fourth shutout loss in five games by scratching out a pair of runs in the eighth. Casey Fien got the last four outs for his first save of the season.

"There's no doubt we've cooled off with the bats," Gibbons said. "But that can turn in one day, that can turn overnight. But I do think it's going to be good to get out on the road.

"We've been at home a long time. A little change of pace, a little change of scenery might do us some good."

The Blue Jays led several offensive categories last month and, despite the recent cold stretch, have won 16 of their last 22 games and 21 of 29.

"The bats are going to come around," Stroman said. "All the guys in the clubhouse are pretty positive about it. I have 100 per cent confidence in every single guy in that lineup that the guys are going to start doing what they were doing at the beginning of the year. It's close."

9th quality start

The Twins, meanwhile, moved two games under the .500 mark with the win. Minnesota (31-33) outhit Toronto 16-10 while Hughes picked up his ninth quality start of the season.

"Super job by him of changing speeds, moving the ball in and out," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "He used his breaking ball a lot better today."

Hughes did well to get out of a jam in the sixth inning after Toronto shortstop Jose Reyes extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an infield single. Reyes moved to third base on a Melky Cabrera single to put runners on the corners with nobody out.

Oswaldo Arcia made a nice sliding catch in foul territory on a Jose Bautista flyout and Hughes struck out Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind to escape.

"I felt like I kind of found myself in the third or fourth inning and was able to ride that through," Hughes said.

The Blue Jays fell to 20-17 at home this season. They have been much stronger away from Rogers Centre this year and at 19-11, have the fewest road losses in the major leagues.

"The bats will heat up again," Gibbons said. "Hopefully sooner than later."

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Blue Jays demote Kevin Pillar, recall Bobby Korecky

The Canadian Press Posted: Jun 11, 2014 11:57 AM ET Last Updated: Jun 11, 2014 11:57 AM ET

The Toronto Blue Jays have recalled right-handed pitcher Bobby Korecky from triple-A Buffalo and optioned outfielder Kevin Pillar to the Bisons.

Korecky has appeared in one game for the Blue Jays this season, working 1 1/3 scoreless innings against the Kansas City Royals on May 30.

He is 3-1 with six saves and a 0.26 earned-run average in 25 games at Buffalo.

Pillar is batting .243 in 24 games with Toronto with no home runs and two runs batted in.

He singled home the winning run in the ninth inning of Monday's 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Pillar, who bats right, has been used mainly in centre field along with Anthony Gose while incumbent centre-fielder Colby Rasmus recovers from a sore right hamstring.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons says he didn't expect to use Pillar in the next several days as the Blue Jays continue a stretch of six straight games against right-handed starters.

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Kevin Correia, Twins bullpen shut down Jays offence

The Toronto Blue Jays' offence was one of the most feared in the major leagues through May and early June.

The inevitable cold spell has arrived.

The visiting Minnesota Twins blanked Toronto 4-0 on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre, handing the Blue Jays their third shutout loss in four games.

Minnesota Twins right-hander Mike Pelfrey has undergone elbow surgery and will be sidelined for at least two months.

Pelfrey, who had Tommy John surgery on the same elbow in 2012, had scar tissue removed Tuesday to relieve pressure on a nerve. The problem had been causing tingling in his fingers since spring training and led to reduced velocity on his pitches.

The surgery was performed by Dr. James Andrews, who also operated on Pelfrey in 2012.

A nine-year veteran who has also pitched for the New York Mets, Pelfrey is 0-3 with a 7.99 earned-run average in five starts this season.

Pelfrey has been sidelined since May 2 with a strained left groin, and his velocity dropped even more while he was pitching at triple-A on a rehab assignment. That led to tests, which revealed the nerve issue.

— The Associated Press

"That's the way it goes sometimes," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "When you're not hitting, you're not scoring runs, you've got to match them on the mound and we didn't do that."

Twins starter Kevin Correia (3-7) threw six-plus innings and three relievers completed the seven-hit shutout in front of an announced crowd of 20,681. Brian Dozier homered as Minnesota (30-33) won for the second time in six games.

Toronto (39-27) pulled out a 5-4 walkoff win in the series opener Monday after dropping a pair of 5-0 decisions to the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend. The Twins and Blue Jays will close out the three-game series with a matinee on Wednesday (12:37 p.m. ET).

"We just couldn't get anything going offensively," Gibbons said. "I mean that's what it comes down to. Three out of four days shut out, you don't expect that. But quick turnaround tomorrow."

The Blue Jays remained 5 1/2 games up on second-place Baltimore in the American League East standings. The Boston Red Sox blanked the Orioles 1-0.

Danny Santana opened the game with a walk and scored when Dozier homered in his first at-bat for the second straight night. He turned on an 0-1 pitch from Toronto starter J.A. Happ (5-3) for his 14th home run of the season.

The Blue Jays had some chances early on but stranded five runners over the first two innings. Correia settled down after that and retired 13 straight batters before giving up a two-out single to Adam Lind in the sixth.

"It looked like he was kind of searching to find it but once it got going he got his confidence, (he) started making pitches," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "Great performance by him."

Minnesota padded its lead in the fourth inning when third baseman Juan Francisco hurried a throw to first base and launched it high, allowing two runs to come across. Chad Jenkins relieved Happ after the play and allowed just one hit over 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

It's the first time Toronto has been shut out in three of four games since 1990 when they failed to score over a three-game stretch.

"You can't put up seven runs every game, it's just impossible," Jenkins said. "But there's no doubt that these guys will come back and we'll start scoring more runs and start winning more ball games."

Correia's night came to an end when Dioner Navarro singled to open the seventh. The right-hander gave up six hits and a walk and had one strikeout.

Happ allowed six hits, three earned runs, three walks and struck out three over 3 2/3 innings.

It was Minnesota's fifth shutout of the season and Toronto's fourth shutout loss of the year. The Twins outhit the Blue Jays 9-7.

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Orioles' Manny Machado suspended 5 games

Manny Machado figured he might be suspended for intentionally throwing his bat on the field while at the plate.

What the Baltimore Orioles third baseman didn't expect is that the punishment would be so harsh.

Machado received a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine Tuesday for tossing his bat in Sunday's game against Oakland.

He has appealed the suspension, which was slated to start immediately. Machado was in the starting lineup Tuesday against Boston.

"I don't want to be down for five days," Machado said. "We're just going to go ahead and get that down, and that's it. Need to try to help out this team in any way."

Machado let his bat fly toward third base after swinging at a pitch from Fernando Abad in the eighth inning. The bat-toss came during a plate appearance in which Abad threw successive high-and-tight pitches.

After the bat went soaring, both benches emptied. Machado and Abad were ejected.

Abad was fined but not suspended Tuesday.

"I don't really care," Machado said. "He's part of the Oakland A's organization and I'm a Baltimore Oriole. I know what I did and he knows what he did. We both got to pay the consequences."

Machado, however, isn't prepared to sit out five games, yet. His hearing could take place next week in New York, or he could drop the appeal as soon as Wednesday.

"We'll see what tomorrow brings," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday. "I think right now he's going to appeal and take 24 hours to think about the next step.

"Plus, probably the most important thing for him right now is make sure he puts the club in a position in case we make an adjustment in our roster. It's a little short notice to get somebody here if he started [the suspension] tonight."

Machado apologized to his teammates Monday for twice losing his temper during the three-game series against Oakland.

On Friday night, he yelled in the face of Oakland's Josh Donaldson after the third baseman tagged him on the chest, knocking Machado off his feet.

'He's a 21-year-old young man that made a mistake, and he's done the right thing since then to move forward with it the way it's supposed to be done.'- Orioles manager Buck Showalter on 3B Manny Machado

The dugouts also emptied after that confrontation.

"It's been a frustrating last couple days," Machado said. "We're just going to try to put this behind us."

Showalter agreed.

"He's a 21-year-old young man that made a mistake, and he's done the right thing since then to move forward with it the way it's supposed to be done," the manager said. "Now there are some more steps involved before we can put it behind us."

Orioles first baseman Chris Davis thought it might be prudent for Machado to accept the sentence and turn the page.

"Personally, I would kind of let it go away. I'm not in his shoes. It's easy to say that on the outside looking in," Davis said. "You screw up, you have to deal with the consequences. He'll deal with it and move on. We've already moved on."

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Blue Jays overcome Twins on Pillar's single

Kevin Pillar had a chat with slugger Jose Bautista as they practised their swings shortly before the Toronto Blue Jays took on the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.

Bautista offered some words of encouragement for the backup outfielder and told him to be aggressive at the plate.

It proved to be sage advice.

Game notes

Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion leads the Blue Jays with 20 homers this season. Shortstop Jose Reyes now has four homers this year. Twins second baseman Brian Dozier has 13 home runs while Santana has gone deep twice. … Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey allowed five hits, two earned runs, two walks and had three strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. … Minnesota starter Ricky Nolasco allowed seven hits, four earned runs and a pair of walks. He had six strikeouts. …Twins DH Kendrys Morales signed a one-year, prorated contract Sunday. The Cuban slugger hit .277 with 23 homers and 80 RBIs with Seattle last season. … The Twins have hit four leadoff home runs this season.

— The Canadian Press

Pillar hit a one-out flare to right field off Casey Fien that drove in pinch-runner Erik Kratz with the winning run to give the hometown Blue Jays a 5-4 walkoff victory at Rogers Centre.

"It was a slider off the plate and I was just able to nestle it in somewhere," Pillar said. "And it feels good."

Earlier in the inning, Pillar made a miscue in left field by diving for Kurt Suzuki's sinking liner. He couldn't come up with the ball and it rolled by him, allowing the Twins to move within a run.

Eduardo Escobar followed with a blooper off closer Casey Janssen that landed just inside the left-field line and brought Suzuki home with the tying run.

"Baseball is a weird game," Pillar said. "You get a chance to make up for a mistake that you made maybe in the previous inning or early in the game. I was fortunate enough to make that happen."

Edwin Encarnacion had staked Toronto (39-26) to an early lead with a three-run homer in the first inning off Minnesota starter Ricky Nolasco. Jose Reyes added a solo homer in the fifth inning for the Blue Jays, who lead the major leagues with 91 home runs.

With the win, the Blue Jays remained 5 1/2 games ahead of second-place Baltimore in the American League East division standings. The Orioles defeated the Boston Red Sox 4-0 Monday.

It was Toronto's 16th victory in its last 20 games.

"We've been playing good baseball but you still need to win some of those games like that," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "For the longest time, everything has been going our way. Tonight things didn't go our way but we still managed to come out and pull out a nice win."

Twins sign 5th overall pick Nick Gordon

The Minnesota Twins signed Nick Gordon on Monday, just four days after selecting the shortstop with the fifth overall pick in the first-year player draft.

He will get the signing bonus value assigned to his draft slot: $3,851,000 US.

Gordon, who played at Olympia High School in Orlando, Fla., will report to minicamp at the team's minor league facility in Fort Myers, before heading to Tennessee to join the Elizabethton Twins, the rookie-level team in the Appalachian League that starts its season June 19.

Gordon's father, Tom Gordon, was a three-time all-star pitcher who played for eight major league teams over 21 seasons.

The six-foot-two, 170-pound Nick Gordon is a left-handed hitter with a strong arm who batted .494 as a senior for Olympia with 27 runs batted in, 17 extra-base hits and 13 steals in 99 plate appearances and committed to Florida State.

— The Associated Press

Minnesota (29-33) scored a pair of quick runs off Toronto starter R.A. Dickey before many fans had taken their seats on a glorious spring evening. Danny Santana hit his first career leadoff home run and Brian Dozier followed with a rainbow shot just inside the foul pole in left field.

Dickey settled down after that, retiring 11 straight batters at one point before Josh Willingham's triple in the sixth inning. The Twins loaded the bases but Dustin McGowan came on and got Trevor Plouffe to ground into a double play to end the threat.

Janssen (1-0), who blew his second save of the season, gave up three hits in the ninth inning. With the crowd deflated after the Twins tied the game, Minnesota pitcher Matt Guerrier (0-1) walked Dioner Navarro to open the bottom of the ninth.

Kratz came in to pinch-run, moved to second on a Reyes single and then scored with room to spare.

"You walk the leadoff guy, you give yourself pretty much a mess and anything can happen after that," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.

Pillar, who entered the game in the ninth as a defensive replacement for Melky Cabrera, said his defensive miscue was on his mind when he came to the plate. Thinking about his chat with Bautista, Pillar swung and missed the first two times before making contact.

"It's a huge roller-coaster of emotions right there," he said. "I guess that's baseball. There's a lot of ups and downs. You have to find a way to get back centred and deal with the task at hand."

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Lonnie Chisenhall ties Indians record with 9 RBIs

Lonnie Chisenhall drove in nine runs, tying a Cleveland record, and hit three homers among his five hits against the Texas Rangers in a 17-7 Indians victory.

Chisenhall had two-run home runs in the second and fourth innings Monday night before hitting a three-run shot down the right field line to give the Indians a 17-6 lead in the eighth.

"I know a day like today is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing," said Chisenhall, who raised his batting average to .385 but needs more plate appearances to quality for the league lead. "I'm enjoying it as much as I can. I don't know the history of it, who's done it in the past."

The history is pretty exclusive.

Major League Baseball said it was the first time a player went 5-for-5 with three homers and nine RBIs, since the RBI became a statistic in 1920. He also is only the fourth big leaguer to have at least five hits, nine RBIs and three homers in a game, first since Boston's Fred Lynn in 1975, according to STATS.

"He just wasn't missing," Rangers manager Ron Washington said, who team is winless in the past seven series at home. "Breaking balls, fastballs, it didn't matter."

The other nine-RBI game in Cleveland history was by Chris James against Oakland on May 4, 1991.

It was the first three-homer game for the Indians since Sept. 17, 2010, by Shin-Soo Choo, who now plays for the Rangers.

Chisenhall also had an RBI single in the first and a run-scoring double in the sixth.

The homers and RBIs were career highs for Chisenhall. He had five hits earlier this season at Toronto.

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Cardinals silence Blue Jays' bats for 2nd straight game

Home has been more sour than sweet for Toronto Blue Jays starter Drew Hutchison this season.

The right-hander's two shortest starts of the year have both come at Rogers Centre, and the briefest came on Sunday when he allowed six hits and five runs in three innings as the Toronto Blue Jays lost 5-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals for the second day in a row.

Hutchison (4-4) is 1-3 with an earned-run average of 8.72 in five starts at home this season. He is 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA in eight starts on the road.

Game notes

Attendance was announced as 45,726, the fifth sellout of the season. … The Blue Jays have signed two players selected in the draft, catcher Matt Morgan, 18, a fourth-round pick and right-handed pitcher Justin Shafer, 21, an eighth-round pick. …  Matt Holliday (tight back) was scratched from the Cardinals starting lineup and Yadier Molina replaced him as designated hitter. … Former Blue Jay Carlos Delgado threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game on behalf of the Extra Bases Foundation. … The Blue Jays open a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Monday night at Rogers Centre. Right-hander R.A. Dickey (6-4, 4.25 earned-run average) will get the start for the Blue Jays against Twins right-hander Ricky Nolasco (4-5, 5.65 ERA).

— The Canadian Press

The 23-year-old says he doesn't know the reason for the disparity.

"Obviously I feel the same way when I take the mound every time, home or on the road," Hutchison said. "I just haven't executed well here and put together good games."

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons doesn't understand it either.

"He's definitely pitched better on the road, some guys are like that, it's hard to put a finger on it," Gibbons said. "I don't know why it is. He wasn't very good today, but he's been pretty good for us."

Hutchison's shortest start before Sunday's was 3 1/3 innings against the New York Yankees, who scored six runs against him on April 6.

Long ball

Matt Carpenter and Jhonny Peralta homered against Hutchison while left-hander Jaime Garcia stifled the Blue Jays on three hits and three walks over seven innings. Right-hander Shelby Miller shut out the Blue Jays 5-0 on Saturday.

"They stuck it to us pretty good the last couple of days," Gibbons said. "They pitched. We couldn't get anything going today."

Garcia (2-0), who started the season on the disabled list after shoulder surgery ended his 2013 campaign, allowed three hits and three walks and struck out four in his fifth start of the season. The walks were the first he has allowed this year.

"They've got one of the best lineups in the league and I knew it was going to be a tough challenge," Garcia said. "I was able to get them off balance a little bit and then tried to keep the ball down."

Right-hander Pat Neshek replaced Garcia in the eighth inning and right-hander Trevor Rosenthal pitched the ninth.

Blue Jays right-hander Todd Redmond took over for Hutchison in the fourth and pitched a bullpen-saving five scoreless innings, allowing four hits while striking out three. Left-hander Brett Cecil took over in the ninth.

"[Hutchison] didn't have a lot of snap on the ball," Gibbons said. "They hit him around pretty good so I got him out of there. Redmond pitched a nice ballgame, kept us in the game."

Series streak broken

The series loss ended a string of seven successive series in which the Blue Jays had not been defeated, something they had not done since June of 2000. The Blue Jays (38-26) last were undefeated in eight consecutive series in 1993.

"Just a great win, great series against a team that couldn't be any hotter than they were when we rolled in here," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "[Garcia] had a real good feel for everything today and executed when he had to. Exactly what we needed for this last game."

The Cardinals (33-31) scored four runs in their bat-around second. Jon Jay and Mark Ellis singled. Peter Bourjos hit a sacrifice fly and Tony Cruz hit an RBI double that was followed by Carpenter's second homer of the season, a drive to centre on a 1-1 changeup.

"I felt good, I just had a bad second inning and let a big inning happen," Hutchison said. "I did a bad job of controlling the situation. I fell behind some guys and hung some pitches and made mistakes and they got hit."

Peralta led off the third with his 10th homer of the season, a blast to left on a 1-0 slider. Hutchison retired the next three batters to finish his outing at 70 pitches.

Hutchison was pitching on his regular four days of rest. Though some of his better outings have come with an extra day or two between starts, his shutout at Texas on May 16 came on regular four days rest.

"I haven't broken it down," Gibbons said. "Some days he has that little extra snap and some days he doesn't. He's coming off Tommy John [surgery] but he's healthy. Probably in a lot of ways he's still building up, a year off is year off.

"They swung the bats good today, they came after him. I don't know if he was so bad, they attacked him pretty good."

Hutchison said he felt nothing out of the ordinary throughout his short outing. Though there has been some concern about a dip in his velocity, that didn't seem to be the problem Sunday as he hit 94 and 95 miles per hour in the first inning and hit 95 once in the third.

"The ball felt like it was coming out fine," Hutchison said. "I just hung some pitches. I left a slider up there for the double and then hung a changeup. I just didn't execute those pitches."

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Kendrys Morales, Twins visit Blue Jays

The Minnesota Twins are toward the bottom of the AL in home runs, batting average and slugging percentage, though that could change with the addition of Kendrys Morales.

A day after the Twins signed the first baseman/designated hitter to a one-year, prorated $12 million US contract, there's no word on when he'll be in the lineup as they head to Toronto for Monday night's series opener against the Blue Jays.

"Why not the Twins?" Minnesota general manager Terry Ryan said. "I read there were probably a handful of clubs that were chasing Kendrys. We were ahead of many of those clubs in the standings."

They cleared room for him by designating struggling outfielder Jason Kubel for assignment. Since Morales is out of options and isn't injured, Minnesota immediately added him to its 25-man roster.

Morales, who has been in Miami working out while waiting to sign, hit .277 with 23 home runs and 80 RBIs in 156 games with Seattle last season.

"It wasn't easy for a baseball player to watch baseball games when he knows he can play," Morales said. "But you have to be mentally tough and be prepared so when this opportunity does come around, you're ready to do what you gotta do."

The Twins (29-32), batting .245 with 49 homers, have dropped three of four after Sunday's 14-5 loss to Houston.

The Blue Jays (38-26), meanwhile, were cooled off with consecutive 5-0 losses to St. Louis over the weekend after winning 15 of 17. They had previously been shut out only once all season.

One of the top hitting teams in the AL, Toronto was held to a combined seven hits in those two defeats as stars Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion went 0 for 14.

"It's hard to put a finger on it," manager John Gibbons said.

His club will try to get back on track against Ricky Nolasco.

After an awful start to the season, Nolasco (4-5, 5.65 ERA) is seeking his third straight win after allowing four runs in seven innings of Wednesday's 6-4 home victory over Milwaukee. Aside from a three-run homer in the seventh, it was a relatively smooth outing.

The right-hander had previously gone six strong innings in a 6-1 win at Yankee Stadium on May 30 but has generally struggled on the road, going 2-3 with a 7.51 ERA and .375 opponent batting average in seven starts.

He has a 3.09 ERA without a decision in two career starts against the Blue Jays with both coming in Toronto. Much of the Blue Jays' lineup has had plenty of success against Nolasco with Jose Reyes batting .327 in 49 at-bats with three home runs. Dioner Navarro (7 for 15), Juan Francisco (5 for 11) and Melky Cabrera (6 for 16) have all homered against him.

Nolasco will be opposed by R.A. Dickey, who had possibly his worst start of the season in Minnesota on April 17. Dickey (6-4, 4.25) surrendered five runs and seven hits with five walks in 4 1-3 innings of a 7-0 defeat.

Kurt Suzuki (4 for 11) and Brian Dozier (3 for 9) have left the yard against the right-hander.

Since moving back to the AL prior to last season, Dickey is 1-2 with a 7.13 ERA against Minnesota.

Dickey has overcome a trying start to go 5-1 with a 3.28 ERA in his last eight outings, including Wednesday's 8-2 victory in Detroit. The knuckleballer struggled with his command, surrendering two runs and seven hits while walking four in five innings.

He's been substantially better at home with a 5-1 record and 3.48 ERA in eight starts.

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