Baseball report: Blue Jays in first place

Edwin Encarnacion went 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs as the Toronto Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep of the host Los Angeles Angels yesterday with a 12-5 victory that vaulted them back into first place in the AL East ahead of the Yankees.

The Jays' 16th victory in 19 games, coupled with the Yankees' 4-3 loss to Cleveland, put Toronto atop the division for the first time since Aug. 13.

The Blue Jays, who lead the majors by far with 670 runs, set a franchise record for a three-game series with 36. They totaled 48 hits against a vanquished Angels pitching staff that has surrendered 44 runs, 60 hits and 15 walks in their last four games.

R.A. Dickey (8-10) gave up five runs in the first inning but won his fifth straight decision over seven starts. He gave up five runs in six innings.

"This was probably my favorite win all year," Dickey said. "When I came back to the dugout after that inning, everybody was still upbeat and there was no reason to pout. The guys were encouraging me and said: 'Hey, we're going to get them back. Don't worry.' And they did."

Twins 4, Orioles 3: Trevor Plouffe hit a tying single with two outs in the ninth inning and Minnesota took advantage of two errors in the 12th for a four-game sweep in Baltimore.

A's 8, Rays 2: Eric Sogard hit a tiebreaking two-run single as part of a seven-run seventh in Oakland. Mark Canha tripled and drove in four runs and Billy Burns added three hits for the A's, who won for just the third time in 12 games.

Royals 8, Red Sox 6: Mike Moustakas' two-run double capped a four-run ninth that carried AL Central-leading Kansas City to a comeback victory in Boston.

Pirates 5, Giants 2: Andrew McCutchen hit his 19th homer and Pedro Alvarez made up for some shaky defense by adding his 20th in Pittsburgh.

Mariners 8, White Sox 6: Robinson Cano had a two-run homer and Nelson Cruz doubled in two runs in Seattle.

Rangers 4, Tigers 2: Cole Hamels (7-8) gave up two runs in six innings, and Mike Napoli and Chris Gimenez homered as visiting Texas held on to the second American League wild-card spot. The Rangers have won nine of 11.

Nationals 9, Brewers 5: Anthony Rendon and Wilson Ramos homered, and Danny Espinosa hit a three-run double for host Washington. Bryce Harper doubled twice for the Nationals, who completed consecutive series victories for the first time since winning three straight in late June.

Cubs 9, Braves 3: Kris Bryant homered twice and Miguel Montero hit a three-run shot for host Chicago. Kyle Schwarber also homered, an inning after he hit a hard foul ball that sent a fan to the hospital as the Cubs dealt Atlanta its seventh straight loss. The Cubs said the woman was conscious but had no further word on her condition.

Cardinals 10, Padres 3: Michael Wacha (15-4) gave up a run in six innings and Stephen Piscotty homered twice and drove in five runs in San Diego.

D-backs 4, Reds 0: Chase Anderson pitched shutout ball into the seventh, and Welington Castillo and David Peralta homered as host Arizona completed a four-game sweep. Cincinnati lost its ninth in a row.

Phillies 2, Marlins 0: Rookie Aaron Nola pitched a career-high eight innings in Miami. The Phillies moved into a tie with Miami for the worst record in the majors (50-74).

Astros 3, Dodgers 2: Jason Castro's walk off homer in the 10th inning lifted host Houston to a sweep. Los Angeles starter Clayton Kershaw allowed one run with 10 strikeouts in eight innings.-- AP