TORONTO — Everyone was getting in on the Edwing on Wednesday afternoon.
Edwin Encarnacion was one of three Blue Jays hitters with a home run as Toronto beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 to end a three-game losing skid.
Encarnacion’s 19th homer of the season came on the same day that fans at Rogers Centre were given a white and blue shirt with a parrot’s wing emblazoned on the right shoulder. The shirt was designed to honour the Blue Jays designated hitter’s “Edwing” celebration where he rounds the bases with his right arm held out at a 90 degree angle from his body, as if he was carrying a tropical bird on his arm.
“I’m thankful to God for this opportunity and to hit a home run on the day they give my T-shirt away,” said Encarnacion through a team translator. He changed into one of the giveaway shirts before speaking with media, as did Blue Jays manager John Gibbons.
Gibbons spoke about the importance of Encarnacion’s production while all-star right-fielder Jose Bautista is on the 15-day disabled list with turf toe — all while holding his right arm out at his side in the Edwing.
“You’ve got to have guys step up,” said Gibbons. “Eddie’s just doing his normal thing, you can’t ask for anything more. He does enough as it is.
“No doubt it’s a big hole, he’s one of the better players in the game, but you’ve got to overcome that and all it means is it’s an opportunity for someone else.”
Outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, who sat out the game with a sore Achilles’ tendon, had a stuffed parrot toy with him in the Blue Jays dugout. Encarnacion said that Toronto mascot Ace gave Carerra the toy and that he loved his teammates getting in on the fun.
He’s also pleased with the numbers he’s been putting up in June, with nine home runs this month.
“I feel good right now,” said Encarnacion. “It’s impressive but I just feel good at the plate right now.”
Russell Martin and Troy Tulowitzki also homered for Toronto (40-34). Starting pitcher J.A. Happ (9-3) gave up six hits and four walks but struck out eight and gave up only two runs in five innings of work. Gavin Floyd, Drew Storen, Jason Grilli and Roberto Osuna each threw a scoreless inning of relief for the Blue Jays.
Osuna earned his 14th save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Robbie Ray (4-4) had eight strikeouts, allowing four runs on as many hits over 5 1/3 innings as Arizona (34-40) saw its five-game win streak end. Zack Godley allowed a home run in 1 2/3 innings of relief, while Randall Delgado pitched a scoreless inning.
Martin staked the Blue Jays to a 3-0 lead in the first inning with a three-run blast to left-centre field, scoring Josh Donaldson and Encarnacion.
Darrell Cecilliani, who made his first start in right field for the Blue Jays on Wednesday, allowed a run to score in the third inning when he misplayed Phil Gosselin‘s one-hop single. Cecilliani’s glove missed the bouncing ball, allowing speedy Jean Segura to score from first and Gosselin to advance to third.
Michael Bourn helped the Diamondbacks continue to chip away at Toronto’s lead, scoring Yasmany Tomas from second with a single in the fourth inning.
Encarnacion hit his own homer to deep left field on a 1-1 pitch from Ray in the sixth inning to make it 4-2. Tulowitzki brought the sold-out crowd of 46,967 to its feet in the same inning with Toronto’s third home run of the afternoon, sending a towering shot over the left-field wall for a 5-2 lead.
“I’m just trying to get back to my successful ways,” said Tulowitzki, who has two home runs in four games since a three-week stint on the DL with a strained quadriceps. “Be that hitter that I was, which was a very confident guy. Someone that wasn’t afraid to fail. Just let it go and lately I’ve been getting better results.”
Notes: Toronto starter Marco Estrada, who was limited to 88 pitches with a sore back on Tuesday night, is not expected to miss any starts. … The Blue Jays traded minor-league pitching prospect Wade LeBlanc earlier Wednesday to the Seattle Mariners for cash considerations or a player to be named later.
