TORONTO (AP) - C.J. Wilson enjoys being a tourist in Toronto, but he doesn’t much like pitching there.
Mark Buehrle became the first seven-game winner in the majors, Jose Bautista and Brett Lawrie homered off Wilson and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 on Monday night to avoid a four-game sweep.
Wilson allowed five runs and six hits in six innings, falling to 1-4 with a 5.40 ERA in 10 career games at Rogers Centre.
“I don’t know what it is but I just don’t pitch well here for some reason,” Wilson said. “It’s frustrating because I like coming here. I like coming to Toronto, it’s a cool city. I never look forward to actually getting on the field and playing.”
Wilson (4-3), who is winless in back-to-back starts for the first time this season, walked three and struck out eight, including four straight during one stretch.
Bautista hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Lawrie, who returned to the lineup after missing six games with a sore right hamstring, added a two-run shot in the sixth as the Blue Jays avoided what would have been their first four-game sweep to the Angels.
“Two changeups, one to Bautista and one to Lawrie, really cost him,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Wilson. “In between he settled down and pitched well.”
The Blue Jays jumped on Wilson in the first, scoring three runs before the left-hander could record his first out. Steve Tolleson singled on a ball that Wilson couldn’t handle, Melky Cabrera walked and Bautista hit a second-deck drive to left, his team-leading 10th.
Mike Trout cut it to 3-2 with a two-out, two-run double in the third. Twenty of Trout’s 40 hits this season have been for extra-bases.
Adam Lind drew a one-out walk off Wilson in the sixth and Lawrie followed with a first-pitch homer into the second deck.
Wilson said he struggled with inconsistent movement on his pitches and had a hard time staying in the strike zone.
“I’d throw a pitch expecting it to move six inches,” he said. “Sometimes it would not move at all and other times it would move two feet.”
Buehrle (7-1) allowed two runs and six hits in six-plus innings. He walked a season-high five and struck out two.
“He’s a consummate professional when it comes to pitching and I think he demonstrated that tonight,” Angels catcher Chris Iannetta said of Buehrle.
Buehrle came in with an AL-leading 1.91 ERA, but saw that rise to 2.04, the same as Detroit’s Max Scherzer.
“It didn’t feel like it was an easy game,” Buehrle said. “Obviously, the five walks shows that.”
Buehrle left after consecutive singles by Grant Green and Erick Aybar to begin the seventh. Steve Delabar came on and struck out Trout, then got Albert Pujols to ground into a double play.
C.J. Cron hit a solo homer off Delabar in the eighth and Casey Janssen, who was activated off the disabled list Sunday, finished in the ninth. Janssen had not pitched this season because of a sore back.
Blue Jays outfielder Colby Rasmus left after six innings with tightness in his right hamstring, suffered after making a running catch to retire Pujols in the fifth. Bautista moved from right to center, Tolleson went from second to right, Lawrie moved from third to second and Juan Francisco came in at third.
Francisco made it 7-3 with a two-run single off Cory Rasmus in the eighth.
NOTES: Los Angeles dropped to 3-14 when scoring three runs or fewer. … The Angels placed 3B Ian Stewart (left hand) on the 15-day DL and recalled INF Luis Jimenez from Triple-A Salt Lake City. Stewart left Sunday’s game in the seventh after being hit by a pitch. Scioscia said Stewart was still “very sore” Monday. … Blue Jays SS Jose Reyes got the day off. … Los Angeles named RH Matt Shoemaker as its starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game at Philadelphia. He takes the spot of LHP Hector Santiago, who was demoted to the bullpen last week. Shoemaker (0-1) will be recalled from Triple-A to face Phillies LHP Cliff Lee (3-3).
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