TORONTO: The Indians hoped a strong outing from Corey Kluber could help them start a new winning streak.
Instead, the ace right-hander suffered through one of his worst starts of the season.
Troy Tulowitzki had three hits on his bobblehead day, including a three-run homer, Russell Martin homered and drove in five runs and the Blue Jays routed Kluber and the Indians 17-1 Sunday.
The Indians lost their second consecutive game after a franchise-record 14-game winning streak.
Kluber (8-8) gave up five runs and seven hits in 3⅓ innings, his second-shortest outing this season.
“All day it was just a fight for him,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.
Kluber came in having won his previous two starts, including a three-hit shutout over Tampa Bay on June 21, but struggled to find the strike zone against Toronto.
“I commanded the ball terribly,” Kluber said. “It all starts with fastball command, and I didn’t command my fastball.”
Catcher Chris Gimenez pitched two innings for the Indians, becoming the third position player to take the mound this series. The Blue Jays used infielders Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney in Friday’s 19-inning loss.
Josh Donaldson had four hits and scored four times for the Blue Jays, whose eight-run sixth was their highest-scoring inning this season. Edwin Encarnacion had four RBI, raising his major league-leading total to 77.
The Blue Jays scored their most runs since beating the Tampa Bay Rays 17-11 on Aug. 7, 2010, and matched their season high with 18 hits.
“The boys came out swinging today,” left-hander J.A. Happ said. “That was great.”
Happ (11-3) won his fifth consecutive start, striking out a season-high 11 while allowing one run and five hits in seven innings.
“It seems like he has another gear on that fastball,” Francona said of Happ. “The ball has such good finish through the plate.”
With 45,962 fans on hand, Tulowitzki singled in the first and third innings, hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth and homered off Tom Gorzelanny in the sixth. The homer was his second in two games.
Tulowitzki had a chance for a second three-run shot in the 13-batter inning but fouled out against Tommy Hunter.
Gorzelanny had not allowed a run in six previous appearances this season, but saw his ERA rise to 21.00 after allowing seven runs in one-third of an inning.
Gimenez worked a 1-2-3 seventh, the second scoreless inning of his career. He also pitched for the Texas Rangers against the Los Angeles Angels on July 10, 2014.
Things didn’t go so well for Gimenez in the eighth, when Donaldson and Encarnacion hit back-to-back doubles, Martin hit an RBI single and Justin Smoak a two-run homer.
“Unfortunately my career ERA of zero skyrocketed a little bit today,” Gimenez said.
Martin hit a three-run drive in the first, walked and scored in the fifth and hit RBI singles in the sixth and eighth.
Trainer’s room
Indians: Third baseman Juan Uribe (right hand) was scratched from the lineup. Uribe left Saturday’s 9-6 loss after he was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning. Jose Ramirez moved from second to third and Jason Kipnis started at second.
Blue Jays: Right-hander Marco Estrada was scheduled to undergo an MRI on his sore lower back Sunday. Estrada, who left Saturday’s game after five innings, may skip his final turn before the All-Star break.