TORONTO – The Blue Jays belted three homers and Mark Buehrle picked up his major-league leading ninth win as Toronto extended its winning streak to eight games Tuesday with a 9-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Adam Lind, Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Francisco homered for the American League East-leading Blue Jays, who had 13 hits on the night. Buehrle (9-1) allowed eight hits and three earned runs over 6 2/3 innings.
Lind and Encarnacion hit back-to-back shots in Toronto’s four-run fifth inning. Lind hit a two-run blast and Encarnacion followed with his 16th homer of the season, giving him a share of the major-league lead with Baltimore’s Nelson Cruz.
Encarnacion also tied Jose Bautista’s club record of 14 homers in a month, set back in June 2012.
Francisco added a solo shot in the seventh inning and Casey Janssen worked the ninth for his eighth save as Tampa Bay (23-30) lost its second straight game. Toronto (31-22) will go for the sweep of the three-game series on Wednesday night.
Both Buehrle and Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb (1-2) were quick and efficient over the first three innings.
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