Gibson shelled as struggling Twins fall 9-3 to Blue Jays

TORONTO -- Mark Buehrle has a "special feeling" about the Toronto Blue Jays these days.

The last time he had it, his team ended up World Series champions.

Edwin Encarnacion hit his 250th homer and Buehrle earned his 30th career win against Minnesota as the Blue Jays beat the struggling Twins 9-3 Thursday night to complete a four-game sweep.

"There's just a different feeling," Buehrle said of the Blue Jays, who added shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and left-hander David Price at the trade deadline. "I felt the same way in '05 when (the Chicago White Sox) won the World Series."

Encarnacion went 3 for 4 with four RBIs and scored twice. The surging Blue Jays won their fifth straight and swept a four-game series from the Twins for the first time.

"We are very confident, no doubt about that," manager John Gibbons said.

Toronto is 4 1/2 games behind first-place New York in the AL East going into a three-game series at Yankee Stadium that begins Friday night. The teams play 13 times before the end of the season.

Encarnacion hit an RBI double in the first, homered in the third, walked and scored in the fifth and doubled home a run in the sixth. He is 14 for 32 (.438) during a nine-game hitting streak.

Toronto has hit at least one home run in 18 of 19 games since the All-Star break.

"The way they hit the ball is just unbelievable," Minnesota outfielder Torii Hunter said. "When they hit the ball, it sounds like car crashes."

Toronto, which beat Minnesota 9-7 on Wednesday, scored nine runs in back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Blue Jays lead the majors with 587 runs.

Buehrle (12-5) allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings to win his third consecutive decision. He is 30-19 with a 3.68 ERA in 54 appearances against Minnesota.

Trevor Plouffe hit a two-run homer and Aaron Hicks had a solo shot for the Twins, who matched a season worst by losing their fifth straight. Minnesota is 5-14 since the All-Star break.

"We got demolished these four games," Hunter said. "We got crushed."

Now 54-54, the Twins are at .500 for the first time since May 2, when they were 12-12.

Already leading on Encarnacion's first double, Toronto made it 2-0 with three straight singles off Kyle Gibson in the third, including Josh Donaldson's RBI hit. After Jose Bautista grounded into a double play, Encarnacion hit a first-pitch homer, his 21st.

After Bautista made it 5-2 with an RBI double in the fifth, Minnesota intentionally walked Encarnacion to load the bases with one out. The strategy didn't pay off, however, as Dioner Navarro hit a two-run single and Justin Smoak drove in another run to make it 8-2.

It was the major league-leading 39th time the Blue Jays had scored four or more times in an inning. They reached six runs or more for the 50th time, the highest total of any big league team.

Gibson (8-9), winless in four starts, matched his career worst by allowing eight runs. The right-hander gave up nine hits in 4 2-3 innings.

"He's stepped up a lot of times for us," manager Paul Molitor said. "Today it just didn't work out for him."