Struggling Phillies Swept By Blue Jays, Lose 6-2
TORONTO (AP) — Colby Rasmus hit a two-run homer, Brett Cecil won for the first time in almost a year and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 to complete a three-game sweep.
Rasmus went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, scored twice and came within a triple of the cycle.
The Blue Jays swept the Phillies for the second time in team history; they also swept a three-game series at Philadelphia in 2009.
Slumping Philadelphia, the last-place team in the NL East, lost for the 12th time in 15 games.
Starting for the first time this season after being promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas last week, the left-handed Cecil (1-0) allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out five.
Cecil went 4-11 in 20 starts last season, then struggled with command and velocity this spring after losing more than 30 pounds in offseason conditioning. He was demoted to Double-A on the final day of spring training, one day after a rough outing against Detroit. He hadn't won since last July 29.
Luis Perez worked three innings and Jason Frasor finished in the ninth for Toronto.
The Blue Jays jumped on Philadelphia starter Kyle Kendrick with two runs in the bottom of the first. Brett Lawrie and Rasmus opened the inning with back-to-back doubles and Jose Bautista walked but was picked off. Edwin Encarnacion struck out before Kelly Johnson grounded an RBI single up the middle.
Phillies designated hitter Jim Thome cut the lead in half when he led off the second with a home run to right, his fourth.
Thome's long ball was his 100th with Philadelphia, making him the fourth player in major league history to hit at least 100 home runs with three different teams. Darrel Evans (Atlanta, San Francisco and Detroit), Reggie Jackson (California, Oakland and New York) and Alex Rodriguez (Seattle, Texas and New York) are the others.
John Mayberry Jr. tied it with a homer to begin the third, his fifth and second in two days.
The Blue Jays reclaimed the lead in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Rajai Davis, with Yunel Escobar scoring from second base.
Lawrie walked to begin the fifth and Rasmus followed with a booming home run into the second deck in right, his 10th.
Kendrick (2-7) lost his third straight start, allowing six runs, five earned, and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings. He walked two and struck out four.
Philadelphia catcher Carlos Ruiz returned to the lineup, two days after leaving Friday's game after six innings with a strained muscle in his left side. Ruiz went 0 for 4 and struck out looking twice.
NOTES: Thome's homer was the 608th of his career, moving him one behind Sammy Sosa on the career list. ... The Blue Jays marked Father's Day by flying the fathers of 13 players to Toronto for the game. ... Attendance was 45,060, Toronto's biggest crowd since opening day. ... The Phillies are off Monday, while the Blue Jays begin a three-game series at Milwaukee. RHP Henderson Alvarez (3-6) faces LHP Randy Wolf (2-5) in the opener.
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