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TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays didnt hang their heads when they struggled at the start of the season. The mood remained upbeat despite regular losses. The players knew they had the potential to turn things around and fulfil the high expectations. Toronto took another big step in its attempt to get into contention in the American League East by completing a three-game sweep of division rival Baltimore with a 13-5 rout of the Orioles on Sunday. The Blue Jays also tied a franchise high with their 11th straight win. The streak has reinvigorated the teams fanbase, the players are all smiles and the early-season woes seem like a distant memory. "It was a battle early on, we all know that," said Jays manager John Gibbons. "We always figured it was just a matter of time before we started playing better. And (the slump) lasted longer than we expected but thats all behind us now. "Were rolling along right now." Edwin Encarnacion and Colby Rasmus homered and veteran right-hander Josh Johnson worked into the seventh inning for his first win of the season. Jose Bautista put the game out of reach with a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning to the delight of the sellout crowd of 45,214 on a hot, sunny afternoon at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays (38-36) moved two games over the .500 mark and are now just five games behind first-place Boston. Encarnacion drove in four runs and had three of Torontos 14 hits. "Ive been waiting for this since the season started," he said. "I believe in this team. I knew that things had to change, that things had to become good for us. So this is the way right now. "Well enjoy it, well enjoy the moment. Im not surprised (by) this. I know this team is good and I know we can do it." The Blue Jays have won 11 games in a row on two other occasions: June 2-13, 1987 and Aug. 27-Sept. 7, 1998. They will go for the franchise record Monday night at Tampa Bay. Baltimore (42-34) loaded the bases in the opening inning but Johnson (1-2) escaped unscathed when he got Matt Wieters to pop up in foul territory for the third out. "It seems like if I can get out of the first, things usually go pretty well," Johnson said. "I get a little amped up, maybe too amped up. Ive been trying to figure that out for a long time." The Blue Jays also loaded the bases in the first. Encarnacion and Adam Lind singled before Rasmus drew a walk. J.P. Arencibia was hit by a pitch to push Encarnacion across home plate for the opening run. Orioles starter Freddy Garcia (3-5) got Maicer Izturis on a strikeout to end the 32-pitch inning. Toronto added three runs in the second inning. Emilio Bonifacio reached on a slap-bunt single, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Munenori Kawasaki. Bonifacio scored on a sacrifice fly by Melky Cabrera. Bautista drew a walk and Encarnacion followed with his 21st home run of the season. The Blue Jays knocked Garcia out of the game in a five-run third inning. Arencibia singled and scored on an Izturis double. Bonifacio followed with a double of his own and scored on a two-out single by Cabrera. Bautista walked again and Encarnacion cashed him in with a two-run double off reliever T.J. McFarland. "Were on a nice little roll right now," Gibbons said. "Its not going to last forever but you enjoy it and you take it while it lasts. If you play good all-around baseball, youve got a chance to win. "Youre not going to win them all but youve got a chance." Garcia was charged with seven hits, seven earned runs and he allowed two walks. Baltimore got on the board with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Manny Machado doubled and scored on a double by Nick Markakis, who came across when Bonifacio booted a one-hopper from Chris Davis that ended up in shallow right field. Johnson was pulled after Ryan Flaherty hit a two-run shot in the top of the seventh inning. He allowed four earned runs, seven hits, an intentional walk and had five strikeouts. Rasmus hit a solo homer in the bottom half of the seventh. The rainbow shot just cleared the wall in right field for his 14th homer of the year. Flaherty added a solo homer in the ninth off Toronto reliever Dustin McGowan. "Theyre playing good baseball, they have momentum on their side and we lost two tough ones to start off," Flaherty said. "We ran into a good team and came up short." Notes: Esmil Rogers (3-2) is scheduled to start for the Blue Jays against the Rays, who will counter with fellow right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (5-3). ... Toronto has won three straight series for the first time since April 29-May 9, 2010. ... The Orioles had 11 hits in the game. ... It was Garcias shortest start of the season. ... The Blue Jays announced Sunday that they have signed five more players from the 2013 First Year Player Draft. They include first baseman L.B. Dantzler, shortstop Christian Vasquez, left-handers Scott Silverstein and Matt Dermody and right-hander Sean Ratcliffe from Pickering, Ont. Jamal Adams Youth Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Joe Namath Youth Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. http://www.jetsrookiestore.com/Jets-Chuma-Edoga-Jersey/ . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Curtis Martin Jets Jersey . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. Mark Gastineau Jets Jersey . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. Saturdays slate is a bit unusual. Sixteen games are on the schedule, as the Pirates and Reds are suiting up for a doubleheader, with six early games and eight late. While there are three elite options at the top of the rankings, theyre all pitching in games with afternoon start times, which leaves the late slate fairly sparse. Thats just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes, though, so lets push forward and try to make some sense of it all.PitchingEliteThe Brewers have established themselves as a popular team to target starting pitchers against, and its easy to see why. Not only is Milwaukees lineup below average (91 wRC+), but the teams 25 percent strikeout clip is the worst in baseball. Needless to say, Jake Arrieta is in an incredibly appealing spot on Saturday. The right-handers production has tapered off in the second half, and the collapsing whiff rate is somewhat concerning (9.5 K/ in the first half, 6.9 K/9 in the second half). Still, this matchup is too good to ignore. With an afternoon start time, the Cubs righty will be limited to early and all-day slates.Also in the early slate is Carlos Carrasco, who draws a home matchup against Detroit. Like Arrieta, Carrasco has been less effective since the All-Star break (4.17 ERA). In his past four outings, hes registered only one quality start. That said, the lone quality start included 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball with 11 Ks against Miami. Carrasco has elite stuff when hes on his game, but his recent struggles give me some hesitancy in cash games, especially considering the Tigers lineup is no pushover. I like him better in tournaments.David Price rounds out the elite tier with a home tilt against the Yankees -- and yes, this game has an early start time, too. The leftys 3.81 ERA is disappointing, but his 9.2 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 are identical to 2015, when he held a 2.45 ERA. In fact, Prices recent numbers are a callback to last year, as hes 7-0 with 2.16 ERA and 0.82 WHIP over his past seven starts. Against a Yankees team thats not good against left-handed pitching (84 wRC+), Price should stay on a roll. The only downside is that the Yanks make plenty of contact, which keeps Prices strikeout ceiling in check.SolidFacing off against Carrasco on Saturday afternoon is Justin Verlander. The right-hander has been carving through lineups, posting a 2.29 ERA and 10.5 K/9 since the All-Star break. A matchup against the Indians, who handle right-handed pitching well and have produced one of baseballs best offenses since the break (108 wRC+), is far from ideal. It also doesnt help that two of Verlanders worst beatings this season were handed down by the Indians. Then again, that version of Verlander isnt the same version were seeing now. I prefer Verlander to Carrasco on Saturday despite the game score ratings.Is every quality option on Saturday pitching in the afternoon? Most, but not all. Thankfully, Yu Darvish, who draws a favorable home matchup against Oakland, is a late-slate option. While the As are a high-contact team, theyre also the worst team in the American League against right-handed pitching. Look for Darvish to be a very popular cash-game target for those playing the late slate on Saturday.Ill never use a Coors Field hurler in cash games, but Im open to the idea in tournaments. Jon Grays matchup against San Diego is exactly the type of spot where it might be worth rolling the dice. Theres no denying that Coors has given Gray trouble this year (4.82 ERA). However, its Grays 9.4 K/9 rate, combined with the Padres 25 percent whiff rate versus righties, that offers plenty of GPP intrigue. Granted, the game was in San Diego, but Grays highest strikeout performance (12 Ks) this season came against the Padres back in June.With a wRC+ of 75, the Braves are downright brutal against lefty pitching. Enter Gio Gonzalez, who finds himself in a highly intriguing spot. The Washington southpaw has been inconsistent this season, but hes pitched better in the second half and has allowed two or fewer runs in three of his past four turns. There are other cash options I like more, but Gonzalez is at least in the discussion.Slated to start the first game of Saturdays doubleheader against Cincinnati, Jameson Taillon owns a 3.00 ERA and 1.02 WHIP since the break. Only once in his past 11 starts has he allowed more than three earned runs. That gives hhim a safe floor against a Reds team that has been below average against right-handers this season.ddddddddddddStreamersThe Rays have been hitting well since the break (105 wRC+), but they are still striking out at a 24 percent clip versus righties, which gives Chris Tillman some nice upside on Saturday. He hasnt whiffed double-digit batters in any game this year, but one of his nine-K performances came against Tampa earlier this year.Seth Lugo sports a 2.27 ERA in five starts since joining the Mets rotation, and hell look to keep on rolling with a home date against Minnesota. The Twins lineup has been hot lately, but theyre also striking out 25 percent of the time so far in September and will be without a DH. Lugo is available in nearly half of ESPN.com leagues.Squaring off against Lugo is Ervin Santana, who has been an underrated fantasy option over the past couple of months. Since the break, the righty holds a 2.82 ERA over 70-plus innings. The Mets are in the thick of the playoff race, but their lineup has still been below average in the second half. Santana is ripe for the picking in 60 percent of leagues.A free agent in 81 percent of leagues, James Paxton travels to Houston to take on the Astros. The Astros can be a dangerous team against left-handed pitching, but they can also be a very exploitable team, thanks to their 24 percent strikeout rate. So if you dont mind a little risk with your upside, Paxton might be worth a look here.AvoidSome people are still drawn in by Francisco Lirianos high strikeout and ground ball profile, but he remains a no-go for me. While the whiffs and grounders are nice, the walks (5.0 BB/9) and homers (1.6 HR/9) are not. Against an Angels team that rarely strikes out and is above average against southpaws, it should be an easy decision to steer clear here.HittingEdwin Jackson owns a 5.21 ERA as a starter this year. He also has a 7.59 ERA away from home. Now consider that he has to face the Rockies at Coors Field on Saturday. This one could get ugly in a hurry. Left-handed bats Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez and David Dahl are definitely great plays here, and Im not shying away from DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado even though they hit from the right side.I highlighted Liriano above as a guy Im avoiding, so it only makes sense to target hitters against him. With the Angels on the schedule, right-handed swingers Yunel Escobar, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols are all in play.Shelby Miller still hasnt figured things out. Since rejoining Arizonas rotation, hes allowed 12 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings, good for a 7.04 ERA. Maybe hell get back on track eventually, but we might as well stack hitters against him until that happens. Left-handed swingers Chase Utley, Corey Seager, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Reddick and switch-hitter Yasmani Grandal are all enticing options.The lowest-ranked pitcher of the day is the Yankees Bryan Mitchell, who owns a 4.88 ERA over 48 big league innings. The righty had made only two starts this year, and while the first one went well, he didnt make it out of the third inning in the second outing. This is spot where the Red Sox, who have one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball, could put up a crooked number. All of Bostons big bats are in play here, though lefty David Ortiz is the top play of the bunch.Raul Alcantara has only two big league starts under his belt, but all he has to show for it is a 7.27 ERA and 4.2 K/9. The Rangers, who have put up a 117 wRC+ so far in September, wont go easy on the righty in start No. 3. Lefty Rougned Odor and switch-hitter Carlos Beltran are the top plays, but Ian Desmond, Adrian Beltre and Jonathan Lucroy are also in the mix.Most likely to go yard: Albert PujolsEntering this season, Liriano had allowed 20 homers just once in his career, back in 2009. Hes on pace to threaten 30 dingers this year. Pujols is a good bet to help the lefty get closer to that number this weekend.Most likely to swipe a bag: Hernan PerezArrieta may be the top pitcher of the day, but hes also the easiest to run against, having allowed 21 stolen bases this season, fourth-most in the NL. Jonathan Villar would be the easy call here, but were going with Perez, who already has 30 swipes of his own. ' ' '