Athletics 9, Blue Jays 4
Yoenis Cespedes homered among his three hits and had three RBIs as host Oakland overcame three Toronto home runs to win the opener of the three-game series.
Cespedes tripled in two runs during a four-run first inning against Esmil Rogers (3-5), who allowed eight runs (six earned) over 4 1/3 frames. Oakland moved a season-high 20 games over .500 with its fourth straight win and maintained its six-game lead over Texas in the American League West.
A.J. Griffin (10-7) retired the first 13 batters in order before Adam Lind hit a solo shot with one out in the fifth. The Athletics answered with three runs in the bottom half when Josh Reddick doubled in two runs and scored on Stephen Vogt’s RBI single.
Brett Lawrie hit a leadoff homer in the sixth and Edwin Encarnacion followed with a two-out, two-run blast off Griffin, who yielded four runs on four hits over seven innings. Griffin has allowed a major league-high 26 home runs, including 10 over his last five starts.
Seth Smith snapped an 0-for-30 slump with an RBI double in the third for Oakland, which has won 24 of its last 30 home games. Third baseman Josh Donaldson singled in the fifth to end an 0-for-17 skid.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Athletics improved to 8-0 when Vogt starts at catcher. … Cespedes, who had three hits for the second straight game, snapped a 25-game homerless streak with his eighth-inning solo blast. … Toronto lost for the fifth time in 15 games against American League West opponents this season.