Nolasco pitches Angels past Blue Jays
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ricky Nolasco pitched six shutout innings to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night at Angel Stadium.
Nolasco (6-14) earned his second victory since July 9. The right-hander amassed seven strikeouts, scattered five hits, issued two walks and hit one batter.
Albert Pujols hit his 30th home run this season and the 590th of his career. Mike Trout added two hits, stole his 26th base, scored one run and drove in another as the Angels used four unearned runs to break a five-game losing streak.
The Blue Jays' Devon Travis extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games with three hits, including a double. Toronto fell three games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East while remaining tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the two wild-card berths, three clear of Detroit, Houston and Seattle.
Left-hander Francisco Liriano took his second loss since coming to Toronto in a four-player trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 1. In six innings, Liriano (7-13) allowed four runs (two earned), six hits and three walks while inducing 12 groundouts and registering two strikeouts.
Angels catcher Jett Bandy left the game because of back spasms. Bandy suffered them while running to first base as he grounded out in the second inning.
The Blue Jays broke the shutout in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from pinch hitter Melvin Upton Jr. but Kevin Pillar popped out with the bases loaded to end the inning.
Toronto had a chance to score first in the second inning. Russell Martin lined a single to left field and stole second base before Michael Saunders walked with one out. But Nolasco struck out Justin Smoak and made Pillar hit into a fielder's choice.
In the bottom of the second, Pujols gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead. On a 1-2 count, Pujols propelled Liriano's 85 mph slider into the concrete corridor between the bullpens and the left-field stands.
Pujols became the third player in major league history to hit at least 30 homers in 14 seasons. Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Hall of Famer Hank Aaron also accomplished the feat. Pujols also positioned himself within nine home runs of Sammy Sosa, who ranks eighth all-time.
The home run also enabled Pujols to move into sole possession of 50th place in career hits with 2,813, moving ahead of George Sisler.
The Blue Jays put the potential tying run at second base with nobody out in the third, when Travis singled and Josh Donaldson was hit by a pitch. But Nolasco defused the threat by striking out Edwin Encarnacion, getting Jose Bautista to hit a foul pop fly and inducing Martin to ground out.
Troy Tulowitzki almost tied the score in the fourth when he hit Nolasco's 91 mph fastball to deep center field. But center fielder Trout jumped to make a one-handed catch at the wall, depriving Tulowitzki of his 25th home run.
Again the Blue Jays put the potential tying run in scoring position in the fifth. And again, they were frustrated. Travis began the inning with a double off the right-field scoreboard but was thrown out at third base when Donaldson hit a ground ball to shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who threw to Yunel Escobar at third for the out.
The Angels took advantage by scoring a run in the bottom half. Simmons walked, advanced two bases on a wild pitch and came home on Shane Robinson's two-out single down the right-field line.
Los Angeles expanded its lead to 4-0 in the sixth by combining two hits, an error, a ground out and Trout's stolen base into two unearned runs. Jefry Marte's ground out brought Kole Calhoun home and Simmons' single scored Trout.
The Angels added two more unearned runs in the seventh. Third baseman Donaldson's wild throw on Escobar's ground ball with two outs began the rally. Calhoun's double scored Escobar, and Trout followed with a single to bring Calhoun home.
NOTES: Saturday marked the 32nd anniversary of Reggie Jackson's 500th home run. The Hall of Famer hit it for the Angels in Anaheim against the Kansas City Royals' Bud Black, who now serves as a special assistant to Angels GM Billy Eppler. ... Toronto 3B Josh Donaldson made his first start in the infield after returning from a jammed right hip Thursday night. Donaldson served as the designated hitter the past two games. ... The Blue Jays have a chance to become the first team in major league history to have its starters lead in innings pitched without throwing a complete game. ... Los Angeles RHP Garrett Richards threw a bullpen session with no problems and said he would have a chance to face hitters Oct. 1. Richards tore his right ulnar collateral ligament May 1 but hopes to avoid Tommy John surgery through stem-cell therapy. ... The Angels had scored only 16 runs in their past 10 games prior to Saturday night. During that stretch, they lost nine times, twice by shutout. ... Angels INF Jefry Marte made his first start at first base since Aug. 19.