TORONTO – J.P. Arencibia and Maicer Izturis hit homers and Mark Buehrle worked six and one-third innings for his first win as a Blue Jay in Toronto’s 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night at Rogers Centre.
Arencibia went deep in the first inning off Chicago starter Gavin Floyd (0-3) and Izturis put the Blue Jays ahead to stay an inning later. Aaron Loup gave up a run in the eighth before Casey Janssen picked up his fourth save to help Toronto (6-7) take the opener of the four-game series.
Buehrle (1-0), who spent 12 of his first 13 big-league seasons in Chicago, gave up two runs in the opening inning before settling down. He allowed nine hits, two earned runs, two walks and had three strikeouts.
Paul Konerko and Dayan Viciedo had RBI singles for the White Sox (5-8) in the first but Toronto used its speed and power to pull even in the bottom half of the frame.
Emilio Bonifacio led off with a hard chopper that deflected off Adam Dunn’s glove and rolled down the first-base line. He took second base on the play, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly from Melky Cabrera.
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Arencibia followed with his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot that bounced off the top of the wall in right-centre field. Edwin Encarnacion reached on a single and moved to third on an Adam Lind double but they were stranded when Mark DeRosa and Colby Rasmus struck out.
Izturis gave Toronto the lead in the second inning with a solo blast to right field, his second homer of the year.
Munenori Kawasaki tripled in the fourth inning and scored when Bonifacio hit a sacrifice fly to deep right field. Chicago threatened in the fifth by putting runners on the corners but Buehrle escaped by getting Konerko on a strikeout.
Dunn reached with one out in the eighth when he was hit by a pitch. He moved to third base on a Viciedo double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Alexei Ramirez.
Janssen retired all three batters he faced in the ninth. The game took two hours 38 minutes to play and announced attendance was 15,755.
Floyd lasted four-plus innings, allowing nine hits, four earned runs and three walks. He had six strikeouts.
Both teams had 10 hits on the night.
Notes: Players from both teams wore No. 42 jerseys on Jackie Robinson Day. … Before the game, a moment of silence was held for victims of the bombings at the Boston Marathon. … Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista was given the night off to rest a sore back. He’s expected to return Tuesday night. … Toronto selected the contract of right-hander Ramon Ortiz from triple-A Buffalo on Monday and outfielder Casper Wells was designated for assignment. … Injured shortstop Jose Reyes won’t need surgery on his severely sprained left ankle but is still expected to miss three months, general manager Alex Anthopoulos said before the game. Reyes visited a specialist in Charlotte, N.C., who confirmed the diagnosis. The veteran infielder won’t be ready to begin rehab activity for at least a month. … Josh Johnson (0-1) is scheduled to start Tuesday night against Chicago’s Dylan Axelrod (0-1). Once the four-game series against the White Sox is complete, the Blue Jays will entertain the New York Yankees for a three-game weekend set.
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