Watch Adam Lind swing and you’d be forgiven for thinking he was in peak condition.
Yet the Toronto Blue Jays slugger is still recovering from the sore back that landed him on the disabled list earlier this season.
The back was hardly a factor Friday. Lind homered for the fourth straight game, hitting a tiebreaking two-run shot in the seventh inning, and the Jays held on for a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Lind’s homer off Mike Leake (6-3) marked the 11th time in Blue Jays history that a player homered in four straight. He’s gone on a tear since missing nearly a month on the disabled list with a sore back, one that’s still a little sore in the morning sometimes.
“When you have that kind of a swing and you’re swinging at strikes, as he’s doing – that pure of a swing and that kind of power can produce what you’re seeing,” manager John Farrell said. “What Adam’s doing is tremendous.”
Lind wasn’t happy with his meek swings in April, and started pulling the ball more. A stiff back sent him to the disabled list on May 8, but it was mostly healed when he returned on June 3. He went right back to driving the ball as hard as he could.
Since coming off the DL, he’s batting .413 with eight homers and 17 RBIs.
“I quit trying to feel my way out there,” he said. “I wasn’t swinging with a lot of authority out there.”
Elsewhere in interleague play it was: Arizona 4, Chicago White Sox 1; Colorado 13, Detroit 6; Kansas City 5, St. Louis 4; Minnesota 6, San Diego 5; Texas 6, Atlanta 2; Boston 10, Milwaukee 4; Tampa Bay 5, Florida 1; Los Angeles Angels 4, New York Mets 3; Cleveland 5, Pittsburgh 1; Washington 8, Baltimore 4; Chicago Cubs 3, New York Yankees 1; Seattle 4, Philadelphia 2 and Oakland 5, San Francisco 2.
In the lone National League game, Houston beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3.
At Cincinnati, Jo-Jo Reyes (3-5) gave up a pair of solo homers, including Drew Stubbs’ inside-the-park dash off a misplayed fly. Frank Francisco gave up a single in the ninth before finishing for his seventh save in 10 chances.
Reyes has won three of his past four starts, an encouraging sign for a pitcher who went 28 starts between wins, matching the longest such slump in major league history. Toronto got the left-hander from Atlanta in a trade.
“We have a great group of guys,” Reyes said. “They’ve welcomed me from spring training. I’ve taken off from there. I feel wanted here. It’s been awesome.”
The Jays weren’t the only birds on the field. Three pigeons roamed the infield together most of the game. At one point, Leake left the mound and tried to shoo them away, but they didn’t go far.
Toronto’s first visit since 2003 – the inaugural season at Great American Ball Park – became a spotlight for the Blue Jays’ hottest hitter.
Jose Bautista’s RBI double tied it 1-1 in the seventh. Lind hit the next pitch over the wall in centre, his sixth homer in his past 10 games. The last Blue Jay to homer in four straight was Edwin Encarnacion Sept. 30-Oct. 3.
“I’ve never been one of those guys who equate a quality start with a good outing,” Leake said. “I threw two bad pitches. Other than that, I thought I threw a good game.”
Otherwise, Leake got the Blue Jays to hit the ball into the ground and let one of the NL’s top defences make the plays. The best: Gold Glove second baseman Brandon Phillips went behind second base to get J.P. Arencibia’s grounder and threw him out from the grass in shallow centre field as he fell down.
Phillips also threw John McDonald out at the plate when he tried to score from third base on a ground ball, keeping Toronto’s lead at 3-2.
Toronto’s defence was lacking in the sixth.
Stubbs hit a high flyball to the warning track. Bautista drifted over from right, waved his arm and called for it, and centre-fielder Corey Patterson headed for the ball, too. Both pulled up at the last instant, letting the ball drop safely.
Stubbs slowed while he rounded first base, expecting the ball to be caught. He rounded the bases standing up after shortstop Yunel Escobar failed to come up with the relay throw cleanly.
Scott Rolen also hit a solo homer, his first since April 7, off Reyes in the seventh. The left-hander gave up six hits and a pair of runs in 6 1-3 innings.
Twins 6, Padres 5
At Minneapolis, Danny Valencia welcomed Joe Mauer back to Minnesota with a three-run home run in the first inning Friday, and the Twins held on to beat the San Diego Padres for their fifth straight win.
At Denver, Chris Nelson hit his first major league home run during a six-run second inning and Carlos Gonzalez homered and doubled to drive in four runs for Colorado.
At Washington, Jerry Hairston doubled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning and the Nationals extended their winning streak to seven games despite giving up a season-high 18 hits.
At St. Louis, first baseman Albert Pujols made a fielding error with two outs in the eighth, allowing the tiebreaking run to score from second base and the Cardinals lost their seventh straight.
At New York, Peter Bourjos hit a tiebreaking double and turned in a sensational catch to help Joel Pineiro nail down his 100th major league win.
At Atlanta, Colby Lewis and Nelson Cruz shook off slumps, Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer and Texas protected its lead in the AL West.
At Boston, John Lackey retired 15 straight batters after a shaky start, Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz had three hits each and the Red Sox won for the 12th time in 13 games.
At Cleveland, Carlos Santana homered and Travis Hafner had an RBI double in his return to the Indians’ lineup.
At Chicago, Doug Davis pitched into the eighth inning in easily his best start of the season and the Cubs began a rare series against New York with a victory.
Diamondbacks 4, White Sox 1
At Phoenix, Daniel Hudson threw a three-hitter in his first career complete game and the Arizona beat his old team, the Chicago White Sox.
Mariners 4, Phillies 2
At Seattle, Michael Pineda took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Ichiro Suzuki had three hits and the Mariners ended Philadelphia’s season-high seven-game winning streak.
Athletics 5, Giants 2
At Oakland, Calif., Josh Willingham hit an RBI double and also scored on a throwing error, and the Athletics ended their winless streak against San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum.
Rays 5, Marlins 1
At St. Petersburg, Fla., Sean Rodriguez and Kelly Shoppach homered, Wade Davis pitched six solid innings and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Florida Marlins.
At Los Angeles, Brett Myers pitched a four-hitter and retired 17 consecutive batters in the first complete game by Houston’s staff this season.
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