TORONTO -- The Phillies played their 20,000th game on Thursday and lost No. 10,480. The 12-6 win by the Blue Jays gave them a four-game sweep of the Phillies in the home-and-home interleague series.
Toronto hit five home runs on Thursday and reached double figures in runs for the second consecutive game. It was the fifth win in a row for Toronto (18-17) and the fourth loss in a row for the Phils (15-18).
The Phillies scored three runs in the ninth against reliever Esmil Rogers.
Starting pitching report
A.J. Burnett, who had a 0.98 ERA in his four previous starts, was in trouble early, allowing three runs on homers by Edwin Encarnacion (No. 200 career, No. 3 against Burnett) and Colby Rasmus in the second inning. Adam Lind, who was activated from the disabled list for the game, hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Burnett (2-2) allowed nine hits, two walks, one hit batter, one wild pitch and seven runs (six earned) while striking out four in six innings.
Knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey (3-3) allowed seven hits, three walks and three runs while striking out a season-high eight in 6 1/3 innings. He also made a wild pitch.
Bullpen report
Right-hander Luis Garcia, just called up from Triple A Lehigh Valley, allowed Encarnacion’s second home run, a two-run shot, followed by Juan Francisco’s solo shot. He allowed two unearned runs in the eighth after Melky Cabrera doubled and took third on an error.
MLB
At the plate
Domonic Brown doubled home one run in the second against Dickey and worked a walk with two out in the fourth. Wil Nieves followed with a single and Cody Asche walked to load the bases, but the struggling Freddy Galvis, who came to the plate 2 for 40 for the season, grounded out. Brown struck out to end the fifth with runners at second and third to keep the score 4-2.
Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer in the ninth.
In the field
Tony Gwynn, Jr., started in center field for Ben Revere, who has had some defensive problems. Manager Ryne Sandberg said the move was made more because he wanted Gwynn (0 for 4 with a walk in the game) to face Dickey’s knuckleball. Nieves, who gave Carlos Ruiz a break behind the plate on Thursday, was charged with a passed ball in the fifth that put Reyes at third base and allowed him to score on a groundout. Jayson Nix, who entered the game at second base in the eighth, committed an error in the inning that helped the Blue Jays score two unearned runs.
The review
It took 56 seconds for a fifth-inning review to determine that Burnett had hit Jose Reyes with a pitch that had originally been called a ball. Reyes stole second, took third on a passed ball and scored on a groundout by Jose Bautista to give the Blue Jays a 5-2 lead.
Health check
Jimmy Rollins was used as a designated hitter for the second game in a row. He was limited to a pinch-hitting role on Monday and Tuesday after picking up a groin injury on Sunday. His return to shortstop is still a day-to-day situation. He snapped an 0-for-9 drought with an RBI single in the fifth. He chased Dickey in the seventh with a double and scored on Chase Utley’s triple against Aaron Loup.
Up next
The Phillies open a three-game series against the Mets in New York on Friday with Roberto Hernandez (2-1, 4.50) facing Jenrry Mejia (3-0, 5.23)