George Springer went 4-for-4 with a solo homer Friday night as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Seattle Mariners 8-1.
Nathan Lukes and Kazuma Okamoto added solo shots for the Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game series. Okamoto had three RBIs.
Dylan Cease (9-5) allowed one run, four hits and one walk while striking out eight in six innings as Toronto earned just its second win in five games.
Dominic Canzone stroked a solo homer for the Mariners while going 2-for-4. Randy Arozarena had a single and two walks as the Mariners dropped the opener of a six-game road trip. Seattle has lost two in a row.
The Mariners took an early lead when Canzone clubbed a 1-1 fastball 433 feet to right-center with one out in the first inning.
Toronto answered with three runs against Emerson Hancock (7-8) in the bottom of the first.
Brett Bateman led off with a single, stole second and took third when Lukes grounded out to the pitcher. Hancock favored his leg after making the tag on the first base line but continued after being checked by a trainer.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded an RBI double past third base that bounced off the barrier in front of the stands. Springer beat out an infield hit to shortstop with Guerrero taking third on the throwing error.
After Jesus Sanchez was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Okamoto hit a sacrifice fly to the wall in right and Andres Gimenez grounded an RBI single up the middle.
Lukes homered to right on a 1-1 changeup with one out in the fifth. Two batters later, Springer clobbered a second-deck shot to left on a 1-2 sweeper, giving Toronto a 5-1 lead.
Hancock allowed five runs, eight hits and no walks with one strikeout in five innings.
Cease worked around two singles in the sixth inning before departing.
Okamoto led off the bottom of the sixth with a homer to left against Seranthony Dominguez on a 2-2 sweeper.
The Blue Jays added two runs in the seventh against Michael Rucker. Lukes walked, Springer singled with one out and Myles Straw grounded an RBI single to center. Another run scored when third baseman J.P. Crawford committed an error on Okamoto’s grounder.
CJ Van Eyk, recalled by Toronto on Friday from Triple-A Buffalo, pitched around a ninth-inning walk. Simeon Woods Richardson was designated for assignment.
–Field Level Media
