Pujols powers Angels to rout of Jays
TORONTO -- Albert Pujols had four hits with a homer and three RBIs, Matt Shoemaker pitched six scoreless innings, and the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 on Wednesday night.
Mike Trout also homered, and Jett Bandy had a career-best four hits for the Angels (53-73), who ended an 11-game road losing streak.
With 584 career home runs, Pujols moved past Mark McGwire into 10th place on the all-time list.
Shoemaker (8-13) held the Blue Jays to three hits and a walk while striking out three in winning his second consecutive start.
The Blue Jays (71-55) entered Wednesday tied for first in the American League East with the Boston Red Sox.
Toronto starter Marco Estrada (7-6) allowed 10 hits, three walks and six runs in five innings.
Estrada was pitching on seven days' rest with the six-man rotation and days off in the schedule. In eight starts on the regular four days of rest this season, he is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA. In his previous 13 starts on longer rest before Wednesday, he was 4-5 with an ERA of nearly 4.00.
Trout and Pujols hit back-to-back homers with one out in the first. It was the 24th homer of the season for each.
The Angels scored three runs in the second to take a 5-0 lead.
Bandy led off with a single, and Cliff Pennington walked with one out. Kole Calhoun followed with an RBI double to right. Trout was intentionally walked, Pujols hit a sacrifice fly to center, and C.J. Cron hit an RBI single.
Cron added an RBI in the fourth when the Blue Jays barely failed to turn a 3-6-1 double play on his one-out grounder to first base as Calhoun scored. That padded the Angels' lead to 6-0.
Calhoun had walked with one out and had taken second on an infield single to third by Trout. Calhoun advanced to third on a single by Pujols that appeared to be a routine shallow fly, but left fielder Melvin Upton Jr. lost track of the ball, possibly in the twilight, and it dropped in front of him.
Scott Feldman replaced Estrada in the sixth, pitching around a walk and a single. However, the right-handed reliever allowed a run in the seventh on a walk to Nick Buss and singles by Bandy and Kaleb Cowart.
Trout and Pujols doubled in the eighth against Aaron Loup to pad the Angels' lead.
Russell Martin had an RBI single against JC Ramirez in the bottom of the eighth for Toronto's first run.
Angels right-hander Deolis Guerra allowed three hits, including an RBI single by Ezequiel Carrera, in the bottom of the ninth.
NOTES: Blue Jays 2B Devon Travis (strained ligament ring finger) missed his second straight game Wednesday after taking a cortisone injection Tuesday in the knuckle of the ring finger of the right hand. INF Darwin Barney started at second base for the second game in a row. Travis said the finger feels better and is hopeful of a return on Thursday. ... Angels RHP Huston Street (right knee) had season-ending arthroscopic surgery Wednesday for a torn meniscus. Street last pitched July 31. The closer is the sixth Angels player to undergo season-ending surgery. The Angels have used 48 players this season, including 12 starting pitchers. ... Toronto LHP J.A. Happ (17-3, 3.05 ERA) will oppose Los Angeles RHP Jered Weaver (8-11, 5.47 ERA) in the series finale Thursday.