s first win with the Blue Jays and helped the team into the AL East lead.Russell Martin and Justin Smoak each homered and drove in five runs as Toronto hammered Minnesota 15-8 Frida

TORONTO -- Backed by a big offensive outburst, Francisco Liriano earned his first win with the Blue Jays and helped the team into the AL East lead.Russell Martin and Justin Smoak each homered and drove in five runs as Toronto hammered Minnesota 15-8 Friday night, handing the Twins their eighth straight loss.Josh Donaldson, who drove in three runs, and Darwin Barney, who had three hits, also each homered.The offense came to life and it was a big night, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.Liriano pitched five innings to win for the first time in four starts since Toronto got him a trade with Pittsburgh on Aug. 1. The Blue Jays took a one-game division lead over Boston.Trevor Plouffe hit a solo homer for the last-place Twins. Minnesota has been tagged for at least eight runs in four straight games.Liriano gave up four runs and two hits. He is 7-12 overall, and 3-1 in five career starts against Minnesota, his team from 2005 to 2012.Three of the four batters who walked against Liriano came around to score.I was a little bit wild today, Liriano said through a translator. Thank God that the offense hit the ball well today.Smoak connected off Pat Dean (1-4) in the second inning and Donaldson followed three batters later with his 30th.Smoak also hit RBI singles in the third and seventh.He stepped up tonight, Gibbons said. A lot of the guys did.Barney homered off Andrew Albers to begin a four-run sixth for the Blue Jays. Martin capped the inning with a three-run double off Pat Light.Toronto batted around a second time in the seventh. Martin had the big blow again, a two-run homer off Ryan ORourke. Seven of Martins 15 home runs have come in his past 11 games.When those guys get hot, theyre tough, Albers said. You saw it all year last year. They can put up 12 or 15 against anybody.Starting in place of Hector Santiago (bruised left thumb), Dean allowed six runs and eight hits in three innings.Hes got to learn to continue to trust that he has to change speeds a little bit more, manager Paul Molitor said. A lot of things coming in there around the same speed.Before the game, Toronto got switch-hitting catcher Dioner Navarro in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, reacquiring a member of their 2015 AL East championship team.General manager Ross Atkins said Navarro was excited about the opportunity to return.I could see the smile through the phone, Atkins said. This should be a boost of energy for him, coming into a contender.COMING THROUGH WHEN IT COUNTSSmoaks homer snapped an 0-for-29 slump with runners in scoring position. His last hit with a runner in scoring position was June 18.DO IT AGAINDonaldson reached the 30-homer mark in consecutive seasons for the first time.TRAINERS ROOMTwins: 1B Joe Mauer (quadriceps) missed his third straight game. Hes expected to return Saturday. ... RHP Alex Wimmers was selected from Triple-A Rochester and made his major league debut with a scoreless eighth.Blue Jays: 2B Devon Travis (right ring finger) took swings Friday but sat for the fourth straight game. Manager John Gibbons said Travis would return Saturday. ... OF Kevin Pillar was scratched with flu-like symptoms. ... OF Michael Saunders (hamstring) missed his second straight game.UP NEXTTwins: RHP Ervin Santana (6-10, 3.39) struck out a season-high 10 batters in his previous start but took the loss against Kansas City.Blue Jays: RHP Marcus Stroman (9-5, 4.47) is 1-1 with a 2.10 ERA in four August starts, allowing six runs in 25 2/3 innings. Stitched College Jerseys . 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Rivalry Week is here, from the Iron Bowl to the Egg Bowl to the Old Oaken Bucket. Or was Rivalry Week this past Saturday, from the Golden Boot to the Big Game to The Game (congrats, Yale, on beating Harvard for the first time since 2006)? Big rivalries are sprinkled throughout the college football season, and as much grief as we give the schedulers (see first item below), they dont save the best for last. We get the Red River Rivalry and Floyd of Rosedale in early October, we get newbie rivalries such as Clemson-Florida State later in October and we get games such as Notre Dame-USC bouncing from October to November from year to year. Its great to be in Rivalry Week, but its good that we didnt have to wait all season for rivalries.1. One benefit from the way that LSU swiped a home game from Florida due to Hurricane Matthew is that it broke up SEC Chump Saturday. Just remember: When the SEC voted against playing nine conference games, Saturdays originally scheduled competition is what the league voted for: Alabama-Chattanooga, Auburn-Alabama A&M, Kentucky-Austin Peay, South Carolina-Western Carolina, Georgia-Louisiana Lafayette, LSU-South Alabama and Florida-Presbyterian. In mid-November. Its as if the final round of the Masters stopped at the 15th hole for an hour for the field to grab a beer and a pimiento cheese sandwich.2. But LSU-Florida provided even more benefits. First, the Tigers comeuppance: losing 16-10 when they failed to score twice from the 1-yard-line in the last 12 seconds. Second, South Alabama. Not only did the Jaguars get a $1.5 million buyout from LSU for giving up their slot in SEC Chump Saturday, but they played Presbyterian, which Florida had to abandon. The Jags beat the Blue Hose 31-7 and raised their record to 5-5 instead of falling to 4-6. In other words, South Alabama might qualify for a bowl game, thanks to LSU. And third, theres always the knowledge that LSU has to play at Florida the next two seasons.3. Only one win over an FCS team may count toward the six wins needed to qualify for a bowl. However, the NCAA gave South Alabama a waiver, given the reason why the Jags have two FCS victories. Army, 6-5, with two FCS wins, must beat Navy or else the Black Knights will fall into the pool of five-win teams hoping for a shortage of six-win teams. Last season, three 5-7 teams played in bowls (and Nebraska, Minnesota and San Jose State all won). This season, if needed, the NCAA will select the 5-7 teams with the highest Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, which a good way to connect academic success to athletic success. Here are a ffew 5-6 teams (and Army), their APR scores and their next opponents: Northwestern 992 vs.ddddddddddddIllinois (3-8) Vanderbilt 990 vs. Tennessee (8-3) Army 989 vs. Navy (8-2) Boston College 981 at Wake Forest (6-5) Indiana 979 vs. Purdue (3-8) Maryland 977 vs. Rutgers (2-9) Texas 971 vs. TCU (5-5) NC State 969 at North Carolina (8-3) SMU 945 vs. Navy (8-2)4. When Luke Falk is on, there is no passer in the country more dangerous than the Washington State junior. He might look like Clayton Kershaw in shoulder pads -- the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Kershaw has 10 pounds on Falk -- but in the first half on Saturday at Colorado, Falk threw more like Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. He picked a spot and delivered a tight spiral with the exact pace he needed -- not 1 mph faster, not 1 mph slower. Falks anticipation is such that as the ball sails to its spot, your eye has time to find the receiver and watch the two intersect. Falk was victimized by drops, and he had less time in the second half than in the first. But when Falk is on, he is fun to watch.5. I wrote a note last week about Rutgers being shut out three times, and the Scarlet Knights failed to score again on Saturday against No. 8 Penn State. Rutgers march to infamy hasnt included many trips to the red zone. It has gotten there only 23 times all season. The next fewest is from Georgia State, with 25, yet the Panthers rank 35th in red zone efficiency because they have scored 22 times. Rutgers has combined not getting to the opponents 20 with not doing well once they arrive there. The Scarlet Knights have scored eight touchdowns, kicked eight field goals and failed to score seven times. By comparison, Michigan has made 58 trips to the red zone and scored 53 times.6.?DOnta Foreman?of Texas overtook Donnel Pumphrey of San Diego State for the lead in FBS rushing yards on Saturday, perhaps the lone bright spot in the Longhorns overtime loss to Kansas. But Foremans eight-yard lead (1,863-1,855) is temporary, if only because Pumphrey has three more games to play and Foreman might not have more than one. Moreover, Foreman carried the ball 51 times against the Jayhawks, the most carries by any FBS back in 13 years. (Chris Perry of Michigan had 51 versus Michigan State in 2003.) ?Foreman has carried it 292 times in 10 games. Pumphrey has 287 carries in 11 games. Only four backs this season have more than 250 carries. Workhorse backs stand out these days because they are relics of an earlier game. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '