Toronto cruises into 1st
TORONTO — After winning their 10th straight game, the Toronto Blue Jays are a first-place team.
That doesn’t mean they’re satisfied.
Toronto surged to the top of the AL East, beating the Oakland Athletics 10-3 Wednesday night behind a pair of three-run homers from Chris Colabello and Justin Smoak.
Josh Donaldson had two hits and two RBIs, boosting his ML-leading total to 85.
The Blue Jays trailed the Yankees by six games on July 31. But after making several bold trades, they have gone on a streak that included a sweep of New York, losing only once since Troy Tulowitzki joined the team to move a half-game up in the division.
“It’s great, don’t get me wrong, but I think everyone in this club wants to be in first place on Game 162,” Colabello said. “That’s what’s important.”
Toronto, which has not reached the playoffs since back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, has stirred excitement among its fans by going on a roll after adding Tulowitzki and David Price before the trade deadline.
Still, starter R.A. Dickey cautioned against any premature celebrations.
“We’ve got to keep things in perspective,” Dickey said. “We still understand that we’ve got 10 more games against the Yankees, we’ve got games against the Orioles, people trying to catch us, so we’re going to have to consistently be good.”
Dickey (7-10) won his won his fourth straight decision, allowing three runs and six hits in six innings.
“He was due for some run support,” manager John Gibbons said. “He deserved that.”
Blue Jays starters have not allowed more than three earned runs in 16 straight games, two shy of the club record set in 1991.
Toronto, which won 11 straight in June, is the first team with two winning streaks of 10 games or more in single season since Atlanta in 2013. The last AL team to do it was Kansas City in 1977.
