Jays rout Mariners 11-6

Travis Snider hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning Wednesday and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Seattle 11-6, extending the Mariners’ losing streak to 11 games.

The 18,093 in attendance at Rogers Centre saw the Blue Jays offence strike early and often. Toronto scored four times in the second inning and belted seven extra-base hits, including solo blasts from Edwin Encarnacion in the sixth and Adam Lind in the seventh.

Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow (6-4) benefited from the early run support and has now won his last five decisions. The right-hander went seven strong innings, surrendering three runs on seven hits, while striking out seven Mariners.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Morrow. Making his first start against his former club, he had to grind through a 26-pitch first inning that saw him work his way out of a bases-loaded jam.

After Morrow dodged the bases-loaded bullet in the first, the Jays offence went to work on Mariners starting pitcher Justin Fargas (6-8) in the second.

Using aggressive baserunning, a big part of Toronto’s game lately, Lind went first-to-third on Encarnacion’s rip down the left-field line, putting him in position to score on a Snider sacrifice fly.

Encarnacion continued the trend by stealing second, and eventually third. Most importantly however, was Encarnacion’s ability to get back to second base on a hard-hit ball by Rajai Davis to infielder Dustin Ackley that surely would have resulted in an inning-ending double play.

An RBI walk from shortstop Yunel Escobar, and a two-run ground rule double – which could have been a triple if not for fan interference – by Eric Thames capped off the four-run inning.

The Jays tacked on lone runs in the third via a Snider groundball to centre, and in the seventh courtesy a Lind homer — his 18th of the season.

Snider finished the night with five RBIs. Encarnacion, starting for the second consecutive night at third base, went 3-for-5 with four runs scored. He is hitting at a .472 clip over his last nine games.

Vargas lasted just three innings for the Mariners, his shortest start since April 29 2006, when he went 2 1/3 as a member of the Marlins.

The Mariners offence scored two runs off Morrow in the fourth, and another in the seventh. Adam Kennedy hit a solo blast in the eighth, while Ackley hit a mammoth two-run shot in the ninth, but it was too little too late.

Note: With record-high temperatures – estimates as high as 37 C – expected for Thursday afternoon’s series-finale in Toronto, Blue Jays personnel have decided to keep the dome closed. This comes a few days after Phillies ace, and former Blue Jays starter, Roy Halladay, left his start Monday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field in the fifth inning due to heat exhaustion… Blue Jays prospect Brett Lawrie, who broke his left hand after being hit by a pitch on May 31, went a combined 0-for-7 with five strikeouts during a double-header in his return to triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday… Recovering from a sprained left knee, Mariners starter Erik Bedard threw a successful bullpen on Wednesday and is expected to pitch a simulated game in the near future. Prior to being placed on the 15-day disabled list June 28, the Canadian left-hander boasted a solid 3.00 ERA with 85 strikeouts to just 26 walks.