TORONTO – Fans threw hats from all levels of Rogers Centre, and some even reached the field. There was no more Canadian way to celebrate a home-run hat trick by Edwin Encarnacion.
Encarnacion drove in a franchise-record-tying nine runs by hitting three home runs, powering the Toronto Blue Jays to a 15-1 rout of the Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon.
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The righty slugger hit a three-run homer in the first inning, a two-run homer in the sixth and then a grand slam in the seventh. The nine RBIs tied the record set by Roy Howell in 1977, the Blue Jays’ first year of existence.
Encarnacion’s 27th home run of the season extended his career-best hitting streak to 24 games and was more than enough offence by itself. Nos. 28 and 29 were gravy as the Blue Jays reached the 15-run plateau for the second time in eight days.
During the hitting streak, Encarnacion is batting .400 with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs. It’s the longest streak in the majors this season and four short of Shawn Green’s franchise record of 28 set in 1999.
When Encarnacion wasn’t destroying Tigers (60-69) pitching, the rest of Toronto’s lineup was. The Blue Jays’ 18 hits were their second-most this season.
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