Jo Adell hit a pair of solo homers Sunday in Toronto, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Blue Jays 6-1 to avoid a three-game sweep. Oswald Peraza added a two-run drive, and the Angels finally ended an eight-game road losing streak that dated to April 16.
The win also snapped a nine-game slump in Toronto, where the Angels had not found much relief for weeks. Adell went deep in the sixth and ninth innings, and all three Angels homers came off Eric Lauer, who allowed six runs and five hits in five innings and fell to 1-5.
For Jose Soriano, the night was just as important. The right-hander struck out seven over 7 2/3 innings to improve to 6-2, and he gave up only two hits and a walk in the first inning before settling in. Kazuma Okamoto opened the scoring with an RBI double, but Soriano did not allow another runner until Myles Straw reached on an infield hit in the eighth, ending a streak of 20 consecutive outs.
The Angels did have to manage one late scare. After back-to-back singles loaded the bases, Sam Bachman came in and got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground into a forceout. That kept Toronto from turning the game into something more dangerous, and it left the Blue Jays with little margin after Lauer had already been tagged for every one of Los Angeles' home runs.
The result landed at a useful moment for Los Angeles, which entered the day carrying the weight of two separate skids and needed a clean finish on the road. Toronto was also without right fielder Addison Barger, who was scratched because of a sore right shoulder a day after returning from a 29-game absence with a sore left ankle. He had made a 101.2 mph throw on Saturday to cut down Jorge Soler at the plate.
Toronto is scheduled to send Kevin Gausman to the mound Monday against Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, while Cleveland left-hander Joey Cantilo is slated to start a series opener against the visiting Angels. For now, the Angels leave Toronto with a win built on power, length from Soriano and a stop to a slide that had been wearing them down for nearly three weeks.
