TORONTO — Steve Tolleson hit his first home run of the season and starter Liam Hendriks was impressive in his Blue Jays debut as Toronto defeated the Oakland Athletics 3-2 on Friday night at Rogers Centre.
Casey Janssen worked the ninth inning for his sixth save as Toronto (27-22) extended its winning streak to four games. It was the opener of a 10-game homestand for the American League East division leaders.
Hendriks, who was called up from triple-A Buffalo earlier in the day, allowed three hits and one earned run over 5 2/3 innings. Scott Kazmir (5-2) shouldered the loss for Oakland (30-18).
Toronto opened the scoring in the second inning.
Edwin Encarnacion reached on an infield single but was forced out when Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., hit into a fielder’s choice. Dioner Navarro lined out before Tolleson went deep to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead.
The Blue Jays took advantage of a Kazmir throwing error to tack on another run in the third inning.
Kevin Pillar opened the frame with a double. Kazmir threw to second base on a pickoff attempt but no one was on the bag and the ball rolled into centre field.
Pillar seemed unsure where the ball was at first and then ran to third. He came across when Jose Reyes hit a slow grounder to the right side of the infield.
The Athletics got on the board in the fourth inning. Hendriks (1-0) recorded the first two outs and worked a 3-2 count on Brandon Moss before the cleanup hitter launched a rainbow solo shot for his 11th homer of the year.
Oakland nearly took the lead in the fifth inning after loading the bases with two outs. Jed Lowrie drove a pitch to the warning track in right-centre field but the ball hung up long enough for Pillar to make the catch.
Hendriks was pulled for southpaw Aaron Loup with two outs in the sixth and a runner on first.
Josh Reddick hit a chopper that Encarnacion speared by diving to his right. The Toronto first baseman stood back up and then slid into the bag to get Reddick by half a step.
Loup gave up back-to-back singles in the seventh inning before getting designated hitter Kyle Blanks to hit into a 6-4-3 double play. With a runner on third, Coco Crisp hit a weak grounder to third base for the third out.
Toronto reliever Steve Delabar came on in the eighth inning and walked Lowrie before getting Josh Donaldson to fly out.
Left-hander Brett Cecil relieved Delabar and gave up a single to Moss. Encarnacion made another strong defensive play to get the second out with an over-the-shoulder catch on a Yoenis Cespedes flare down the right-field line.
Pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo lifted a ball into shallow left field that brought Lowrie home to make it a one-run game. Cecil struck out Derek Norris to preserve the lead.
Janssen got the first two outs before giving up a double to Crisp, who moved to third on a stolen base. Lowrie grounded out to end the game.
Announced attendance was 21,007 and the game took two hours 37 minutes.
Notes: Toronto knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (4-4) will get the start Saturday afternoon against Jesse Chavez (4-1). … The Blue Jays will host Tampa Bay and Kansas City during the homestand next week. … Hendriks allowed three walks and had three strikeouts. He earned his promotion to the majors after posting a 5-0 record and 1.48 earned-run average with the Bisons. The Toronto fans gave him a standing ovation as he walked to the dugout in the sixth inning.