TORONTO (AP) — Dylan Cease struck out eight in six innings, George Springer was 4 for 4 with a home run, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners 8-1 on Friday night.
Cease (9-5), who gave up four hits, one run and a walk, now has 217 strikeouts to lead the AL. The only pitcher in the majors with more is Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski with 222.
Cease is 5-1 with a 1.48 ERA in his past 10 starts, including two wins over the Mariners.
Springer,
who scored three runs, singled in the first inning, doubled in the third, hit his 14th homer in the fifth and singled in the seventh. Springer hit a memorable homer the last time Toronto hosted Seattle, a three-run shot to put the Blue Jays ahead in Game 7 of the 2025 ALCS.
Kazuma Okamoto and Nathan Lukes added homers for the Blue Jays.
Okamoto connected off Seranthony Domínguez in the sixth, extending his Blue Jays rookie record total to 27. Lukes homered in the fifth.
Dominic Canzone hit his 20th home run of the season in the first, but the Mariners lost their second straight. Seattle is 27-40 on the road.
Seattle starter Emerson Hancock (7-8) allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings.
After Toronto’s Brett Bateman opened the bottom of the first with a single, Hancock appeared shaken up when he chased down Lukes’ grounder and stretched to tag the leaping outfielder.
Hancock stayed in, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI double, Springer singled and Jesús Sánchez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Guerrero scored on Okamoto's sacrifice fly and Andrés Giménez added an RBI single.
Toronto is 38-13 this season when scoring five or more.
RHP José Soriano (10-7, 3.43 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Blue Jays on Saturday against Mariners LHP Kade Anderson (0-0, 4.76).
__
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
