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TORONTO(AP) Philadelphia manager
Charlie Manuel
held a rare meeting Friday because he wanted to wake his team up. They sure looked wide-eyed on Saturday.
J.A. Happ pitched a five-hitter,
Jayson Werth
homered twice and the Phillies beat the
Toronto Blue Jays
10-0.
''Usually you have to have anywhere from two to four of those meetings a year,'' Manuel said. ''If you can get under four,
that means you're doing pretty good.''
In the first complete game of his career, Happ (5-0) struck out four and didn't walk a batter to win for the first time in
four starts.
''(Happ) stayed right with his game plan and they were swinging at him,'' Manuel said. ''He did a good job, a super job.''
Happ threw 100 pitches, 64 for strikes.
''I didn't always get strike one but we were trying to focus on getting ahead in the count,'' Happ said. ''That's something
I've struggled with the last few games. It all kind of came together today.''
For once, hitting and pitching came together on the same day for the Phillies, who snapped a three-game losing streak and
won for just the third time in 14 games.
Weary of inconsistent play and mental mistakes, Manuel held a 20-minute meeting after Friday's 6-1 defeat.
''There comes a time when you wake people up,'' Manuel said. ''Hopefully I got their attention the way I wanted to.''
After going without an extra-base hit for the first time in 97 games Friday, the Phillies used the long ball to jump ahead
quickly, homering twice in the top of the first.
Werth hit a towering two-run drive into the upper deck, his 14th, and
Pedro Feliz
added a two-out homer to left.
Toronto left-hander
Brad Mills
(0-1) allowed eight runs on eight hits in four-plus innings, striking out seven in his second career start.
Werth's upper deck blast was the 14th in the 20-year history of Rogers Centre, formerly SkyDome. Toronto's
Vernon Wells
was the last player to reach the upper tier, on Sept. 16, 2004, against Baltimore's
Rodrigo Lopez
.
''When I hit it, I didn't know if it was going to stay fair,'' Werth said of his drive. ''I watched it a little bit longer
than I usually but. It stayed pretty straight. When I first hit it, I thought it was going to hook a little bit but it stayed
straight just inside the fair pole.''
Happ said he lost track of Werth's homer as it climbed toward the upper deck.
''You watch him in batting practice and he puts on a show,'' Happ said. ''He's got impressive pop in that bat.''
A Blue Jay in 2002 and 2003 before he was traded to the
Los Angeles Dodgers
, Werth singled in the third, doubled and scored in the fifth and hit a solo homer off reliever B.J. Ryan in the sixth. Needing
a triple to complete the cycle, Werth walked in his final plate appearance. he has eight career homers against Toronto.
''We'll kind of be glad to see the last of him,'' Toronto manager
Cito Gaston
said. ''He's hit us well over the last couple of years.''
Mills also faced the Phillies in his debut, June 18 at Philadelphia, when he allowed four runs and six hits, including homers
to Werth and
Jimmy Rollins
, in 3 2-3 innings.
Carlos Ruiz
hit an RBI double in the fourth before the Phillies pulled away with a four-run fifth.
Shawn Camp
replaced Mills after
Ryan Howard
's single, then allowed an RBI single to
Chris Coste
,
Eric Bruntlett
's sacrifice fly and an run-scoring single by Ruiz, making it 9-0.
NOTES: Toronto optioned Mills back to Triple-A Las Vegas after the game, clearing a roster spot for
Roy Halladay
, who's expected to come off the DL Monday to face Tampa Bay. ... Rollins, stuck in an 0 for 19 slump, sat out for the third
straight game. Manuel said Rollins likely won't play again until Tuesday, the opener of a three-game series in Atlanta. ...
After Toronto C
Rod Barajas
said his strained right hamstring felt better Saturday, the
Blue Jays
did not file the paperwork to place him on the 15-day DL. Gaston said Barajas is day-to-day. ... The Phillies are a major
league-best 25-12 on the road. ... Toronto lost for the first time in seven games against Philadelphia.
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