 to break the tie and allow Philadelphia to take a half-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East. It was the latest in a season the Phillies had been in first since the conclusion of the 2012 season, when they won 102 games.Saranthony Dominguez (1-0) allowed one hit in 1 1/3 innings for his first major league win. Luis Garcia worked the ninth for his first save in his second opportunity.Jaime Garcia allowed five hits in seven innings and gave up his only run on Maikel Franco's homer leading off the fifth.Williams leads the majors in pinch-hit RBIs (8) and total bases (19). His three pinch-hit homers tied Miami's Justin Boar for tops in baseball.TRYING SOMETHING NEWMartin played his first career game at shortstop. The longtime catcher has made 33 appearances at third base and four at second. The Blue Jays have used seven players at shortstop this season.UP NEXTBlue Jays: LHP J. A. Happ (6-3, 3.97 ERA) will return to the place his career started. Happ pitched with the Phillies in 2009-10 before being packaged as part of the trade that landed Roy Oswalt in Philadelphia. Happ went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits, in the Blue Jays' win over the Angels on Tuesday.Phillies: RHP Nick Pivetta (4-2, 3.23) has won his last three starts, allowing one earned run in 19 innings while striking out 25 and walking two. The 25-year-old native of Victoria, British Columbia, will be making his first career start against the Blue Jays.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Blue Jays hope to return to winning ways vs. Phillies 3h ago• 2 min read May has not been kind to the Toronto Blue Jays.Even after a win on Friday night, the Blue Jays are 8-15 during the month and have not won back-to-back games in May. They'll try to change that Saturday afternoon when they face the Philadelphia Phillies.The Blue Jays defeated the Phillies 6-5 in the opener of a three-game set against the Phillies on Friday night. The win was just Toronto's third in its last 12 games, but it started a nine-game road trip on the right foot after a 1-6 homestand."In baseball, you go through stretches good and bad, you go through streaks," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "It really comes down to we didn't play good enough baseball to win many games on that homestand. That's the bottom line. Whether we didn't pitch good enough, or didn't get guys in or bad defense. That's what happens." The Blue Jays pounded out 11 hits on Friday night, but they'll have a tough task in front of them Saturday. Phillies ace Aaron Nola will take the mound at Citizens Bank Park, where he is 5-0 with a 2.06 ERA in 2018.Nola (6-2, 2.37) is coming off just his second loss of the season. He gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals last Sunday. It was the first time in 10 starts this season that Nola allowed more than three runs and just the second time he has allowed more than two."I left some balls over the plate right in their paths and they got a couple of doubles and some singles, and got guys in when they needed to," Nola told reporters after the outing.He has struggled against the Blue Jays in his career, however. Nola has a 10.13 ERA and 2.375 WHIP in two starts against Toronto (in the 2015 and 2016 seasons), and the team's 1.010 OPS against him is the highest of any opponent that Nola has faced more than once in his career.Jaime Garcia, meanwhile, will be making his return to the Blue Jays' rotation. Garcia is set to be activated from a brief stint on the disabled list, where he landed with left shoulder inflammation.The left-hander is 2-3 with a 6.28 ERA in eight starts this season. He last pitched May 15 against the New York Mets. Garcia allowed six runs in 3 2/3 innings during that start.Garcia, who spent the majority of his major league career with the Cardinals, will be making his 11th lifetime start against the Phillies. Garcia is 3-5 with a 2.92 ERA and 1.113 WHIP in his career against Philadelphia.The current series between the Blue Jays and Phillies is the first between the teams since the 2016 season. The Blue Jays are on a four-game winning streak overall against the Phillies and have won three in a row at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies' last home win against the Blue Jays came Aug. 19, 2015.
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