BALTIMORE -- Michael Saunders set career highs with three homers and eight RBIs, and the Toronto Blue Jays blew past the Baltimore Orioles 13-2 on Friday night for their fourth straight victory.
Saunders connected with two on against Mike Wright (3-4) in the first inning, added another three-run drive off Wright in the fourth and went deep against Ubaldo Jimenez with a man on in the sixth.
Batting in the eighth against T.J. McFarland and with the chance to tie the major league record of four homers in a game, Saunders bounced into a bases-loaded double play.
That did little to ruin Saunders' finest game in the big leagues since he debuted with Seattle in 2009. He raised his home run total for the season to 15, second-most in his career behind the 19 he hit for Seattle in 2012.
In eight games against Baltimore this season, Saunders is 18 for 33 with five home runs and 12 RBIs (see full recap).
Arrieta wins No. 11, Pirates fall below .500 with loss to Cubs
CHICAGO -- Jake Arrieta pitched two-hit ball over six innings, Matt Szczur homered, Albert Almora Jr. had three hits and the Chicago Cubs beat the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 on Friday.
Arrieta (11-1) struck out 11 and walked three as the Cubs started the weekend series on a strong note after dropping two of three at Washington.
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Szczur hit a two-run homer in the first inning on Francisco Liriano's second pitch of the game.
Almora had an RBI double during a three-run sixth that broke it open and drove in another with a single in the seventh. He raised his average to .429 in nine games since he was called up from the minors last week.
The Pirates fell below .500 at 33-34 with their eighth loss in nine games. They were shut out for the first time in a regular-season game since they lost to St. Louis on Sept. 28.
Liriano (4-7) dropped his fourth straight start (see full recap).
Hamels tosses 7 2/3 shutout innings in win over Cardinals
ST. LOUIS -- Rougned Odor homered and Cole Hamels pitched 7 2/3 innings as the Texas Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0 on Friday night.
Hamels (7-1) allowed three hits while striking out six and walking three. He lowered his road ERA to 1.64 this season and turned in his fourth consecutive quality start.
Hamels scattered five baserunners and allowed only one to reach second.
Odor homered on the first pitch he saw in the fifth, hitting it 433 feet to straightaway center. It was Odor's third homer in as many games and the 19th for the Rangers in their last eight games.
Sam Dyson picked up his 12th save.
The Rangers have won four straight, improving to an AL-best 43-25. Texas improved to 4-0 all-time at Busch Stadium in the regular season and is a win away from winning a franchise-record eighth consecutive series (see full recap).
