TORONTO — The homer-happy Toronto Blue Jays continued their onslaught against opposing pitchers.
Hitting three more bombs on Thursday night to take two of three games from the Cleveland Indians, the Blue Jays upped their season total to an American League-leading 56 home runs.
Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion homered twice, third baseman Juan Francisco hit a solo shot and the Blue Jays dropped the Indians 4-2 at Rogers Centre.
“He’s one of the top sluggers in the game,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Encarnacion. “He’s been barreling a lot of balls all year, especially the last month.”
Encarnacion homered in the second inning and hit a two-run blast in the fifth to give him eight home runs this season and six in May.
It was Encarnacion’s second multi-homer game of the year and the 13th of his career. The two home runs — giving him 132 with the Blue Jayss — put him in sole possession of ninth place on the club’s career list, passing former catcher Ernie Whitt.
“I’ve been great at the plate the last couple of weekends, and it makes me happy and very proud because when I play like that I know I can help the team win,” said Encarnacion, who has reached base safely in 28 of his last 32 games.
Francisco’s homer — which came two batters after Encarnacion hit his first one in the second — was his seventh of the season and second of the series.
The three-homer game marked the sixth time the Blue Jays (20-20) have gone deep three or more times in a game this season. Toronto has clubbed 19 homers in its last 23 games.
A night after accumulating a season-high 15 runs and 22 hits, the Indians were quieted by Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ and four relievers in front of a crowd of 17,364, the largest of the series.
Right fielder David Murphy provided Cleveland’s only source of offense through seven innings with a solo homer in the fifth, his third homer of the season.
The Indians (19-22) put another run across in the eighth on an RBI single from catcher Yan Gomes. But Cleveland stranded two runners and was retired in order in the ninth by Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen, who picked up his second save of the season.
Happ (2-1) bounced back from his worst outing of the year to throw a season-high six innings and 100 pitches of one-run ball. The left-hander allowed six hits, walked two and struck out four in his first quality start of the season.
“(Happ’s) fastball was really getting on guys,” said Indians left fielder Ryan Raburn, who went 1-for-4 with a double and struck out twice. “I know it’s 92, 93 (mph), but out of his hand, it just seemed a lot harder. And he spotted his pitches. He didn’t miss over the plate a whole lot from what I saw.”
Indians starter Danny Salazar (1-4) did not fare as well as his Toronto counterpart. The right-hander needed 98 pitches to get through four innings and did not come back out for the fifth. Salazar allowed two runs — both homers — five hits and two walks and struck out three.
In 40 2/3 innings this season, Salazar has already surrendered more home runs (eight) than he did in 52 innings in 2013, when he allowed seven. Pitching on extra rest did nothing to help Salazar, who failed to complete five innings for the fourth time in eight starts.
“I felt great today, I felt normal,” Salazar said. “I just didn’t have a good feeling for the ball today to command my fastball, and my change-up wasn’t there. My pitches just weren’t working.”
The Indians used six relievers after Salazar left the game.
The loss snapped Cleveland’s string of three consecutive series victories, a season high.
NOTES: The Blue Jays recalled CF Anthony Gose from Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday after placing CF Colby Rasmus (right hamstring tightness) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 13. … Indians LF Michael Brantley (back tightness) sat out Thursday’s game as a precaution. … Cleveland promoted 1B Jesus Aguilar from Triple-A Columbus on Thursday. He got the start as the DH in his major league debut, walked in his first plate appearance and finished the game 0-for-2. Aguilar’s promotion came after the Indians placed OF Nyjer Morgan (sprained right knee) on the 15-day DL. … Toronto removed RHP Dustin McGowan from its rotation on Thursday. McGowan went 2-2 with a 5.08 ERA in eight starts.