Toronto, ON – Mark Trumbo punctuated a five-run fourth inning run homer, and the Angels notched a 10-6 victory over the Toronto game series at Rogers Centre.
Trumbo added an RBI single for Los Angeles, which remained five games behind AL West-leading Texas. The Angels, however, did close within 3 1/2 games of Boston in the wild card race.
"We don't have any wiggle room anymore," Trumbo said. "It's do or die for us. We're probably going to have to win every game from here on out."
Vernon Wells and Alberto Callaspo drove in two runs apiece for the Angels, while Joel Pineiro (7-7) gave up four runs on nine hits over six-plus innings to record his first road win since June 17 against the Mets.
Edwin Encarnacion had two RBI, and Mike McCoy and Eric Thames both collected three hits for the Blue Jays, who were aiming to win four straight versus the Angels for the first time since a five-game run from September 8, 2004-July 28, 2005.
Brett Cecil (4-10) allowed four runs and six hits in three innings to absorb the loss.
"He started to elevate the ball and didn't have a finishing type of pitch," Jays manager John Farrell said of Cecil.
Down by a run, the Angels grabbed the lead with a two-out rally in the third. Callaspo and Howie Kendrick clubbed back-to-back doubles to produce the tying run. After Torii Hunter worked a walk, Kendrick scored on Trumbo's base hit to left field. Wells, who homered in the previous inning, hit a ground-rule double to plate Hunter and put the visitors up 4-2.
Los Angeles threw up a five-spot against Kyle Drabek in the fourth. Erick Aybar led off with a double and took third on a sacrifice bunt before stealing home with Peter Bourjos batting. Bourjos wound up hitting a single, advanced on a wild pitch, moved to third on a botched pickoff attempt and scored on Callaspo's sac fly. Trumbo then followed singles by Kendrick and Hunter by launching a home run to left field.
Back-to-back doubles by Bourjos and Callaspo to begin the sixth made it 10-2.
Toronto loaded the bases in the seventh. Pineiro's night was done after surrendering singles to the first two batters he faced in the inning. Rich Thompson came on from the bullpen and walked Jose Bautista before McCoy, who gave the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead with an RBI groundout in the second, scored on Encarnacion's sac fly. Kelly Johnson then singled home Thames, and the Blue Jays got another run when Brett Lawrie grounded into a fielder's choice.
Thames scored on an error with two outs in the ninth. After Garrett Richards walked Lawrie, Scott Downs struck out Colby Rasmus to end the game and record his first save of the season.
Game Notes
Trumbo upped his home run total this year to 29, two shy of the team rookie record set by Tim Salmon in 1993...Cecil, who missed his scheduled start last Friday against the New York Yankees after he sustained a cut on his left index finger, is now 0-6 in his last nine outings.
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