Jays win first series in Baltimore since ’12

Brett Lawrie repeatedly mentioned positivity. Colby Rasmus kept talking about staying relaxed. For Edwin Encarnacion, the word of the day was relief.

“Big time,” the slugger said with a wide grin. “Oh yeah.”

No matter how they described the vibe, the Toronto Blue Jays are certainly breathing a lot easier after piecing together their most complete game of the season in an emphatic 11-3 thumping of the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, clinching their first series victory at Camden Yards since Sept. 24-26, 2012.

This one offered a deep exhale on multiple fronts, from the season highs in runs and hits (17) posted by an offence that had been collectively icy to the breakouts games for Encarnacion, Lawrie and even Ryan Goins. Even better is that they did at a place where they had lost 14 of the last 20 games.

“And we won it with force, too,” said Lawrie. “One through nine we all swung the bats well today, and we did the little things, which is the biggest thing. We had that big (fourth) inning there where Jonathan Diaz got a great (suicide squeeze) bunt down, if we don’t get that down who knows where the game is going to go from there. Everyone contributed today on a lot of different levels.”

Factor in another strong effort from Mark Buehrle, who allowed one run over seven innings aided significantly by several strong defensive plays, and the team that the Blue Jays believed they could at long last made an appearance.

It’s not often they make things look this easy.

“You have a good day it takes a load off,” said manager John Gibbons. “It did wonders for the pitching staff, too, we had some breathing room. And it makes it easier on the coaching staff.”

The only sobering moment came when Maicer Izturis suffered a left knee injury walking down the dugout steps in the first inning. He was on the disabled list by the time the game ended, and an MRI on Monday in Minnesota will determine the extent of the damage.

“I felt it pop twice and now I feel pain,” said Izturis. “I’m worried about it.”

In the interim infielder Munenori Kawasaki will join the team Tuesday as will J.A. Happ, who’ll be activated from the disabled list. The lefty will head to the bullpen, with catcher Erik Kratz optioned to make room for him.

At least the offence is finally going, and had they timed their outburst better, the Blue Jays would have left for Minnesota with a sweep of the Orioles, picked by some as a dark horse to win the American League East. But Saturday’s 2-1, 12-inning loss was a bottoming out point.

That their outburst came against Ubaldo Jimenez – the free-agent right-hander so dearly coveted by the fan base but off to a terrible start after signing a US$50-million, four-year deal – is an even better sign, given how pivotal he is to the Orioles’ fortunes.

Some members of the Blue Jays had reservations about Jimenez because of how erratic his delivery is and the resulting inconsistencies in his performance, and he walked a tightrope throughout his 5.1 innings.

The suddenly scorching Rasmus started things off with a solo shot that landed on Eutaw Street beyond the right-field wall – the 78th homer ever to travel that far – and his two-run single in the sixth made it 6-1 and really broke things open.

Encarnacion collected his first RBIs of the season on a two-run double to cap a five-run sixth – the most productive Blue Jays inning of the season, and you could sense the relief from him even after he got caught rounding the bag thinking of third base.

“My timing,” he said when asked what has been off for him. “I feel a lot better the last couple of games, I hope I continue to do that.”

Lawrie ended an 0-for-12 drought with a single in the fourth and his second homer of the season to lead off the sixth, while Goins walked in the fourth and singled and scored in the sixth, too.

“I sensed that we were having fun,” said Rasmus. “Everybody wants to do good every day, that’s what’s hard about this game.”

Contributions came from several others, too.

Melky Cabrera collected two more hits in running his hit streak to 13 games, Josh Stinson was silly enough to pitch to Jose Bautista, resulting in a three-run homer in the eighth that gave the Blue Jays double digits for the first time this year, and Adam Lind, moved up into the cleanup spot to take some heat off Encarnacion and get Bautista some pitches to hit, went 4-for-4 with a walk.

“It helped me,” said Encarnacion.

The key for the Blue Jays is to not lose the offensive feel from this game, and in that sense perhaps Monday’s day of rest may not come at the perfect time.

But with Phil Hughes, Mike Pelfey and Kyle Gibson on the docket for the Twins this week, and Jose Reyes expected back for the start of Friday’s series at Cleveland, the opportunity for the Blue Jays to keep on slugging and really leverage the strong pitching they’ve been getting is sitting there, waiting.