Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Alex Gonzalez and John Buck each hit two- run homers and Aaron Hill added a solo round-tripper to pace the Blue Jays over the Phillies, 5-1, in the middle test of a three-game set.
Shaun Marcum (7-3) tossed six solid innings and struck out six compared to one walk and five hits allowed, one of which was Ryan Howard’s solo home run, to earn the win for Toronto, which had lost four of five coming in.
Cole Hamels (6-6) was touched for all five runs on seven hits and three walks in a four-inning start for the Phillies, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Buck’s two-run shot came in the second inning, and Hill provided a solo blast in the home third after the Phillies stranded runners on the corners in the top of the frame.
Gonzalez tacked on his 14th homer following Fred Lewis’ infield single in the fourth to make it 5-0.
Despite three Phillies relievers — Nelson Figueroa, Danys Baez and Mike Zagurski — holding the Blue Jays from there, the Phillies only managed Howard’s bomb into the bullpen beyond the center field wall in the sixth.
Scott Downs pitched two perfect innings in relief for Toronto, and Shawn Camp set down the Phillies’ 4-5-6 hitters in order in the ninth to close out the win.
This series was moved to Citizens Bank Park as a result of Toronto’s hosting of world leaders for the G20 Summit. The Blue Jays batted last and both teams played with a designated hitter…Toronto upped its MLB-best home run total to 114…Chase Utley had two of Philadelphia’s five hits…Lewis went 2-for-3 and also walked twice.