The Blue Jays have sent a message to their rivals in the American League : do not underestimate us!

The « Gibbons bunch » have just completed two sweeps. First against their division rivals, the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park, and then against the Western Division leaders, the Oakland A’s, at home.

The Jays were in a hitting mood when they got to Fenway as they got 11 hits, eight for extra-bases. Edwin Encarnacion drove in four runs with two monster homeruns while Erik Kratz and Melky Cabrera, who chipped in with four hits, added a solo shot each.

J.A. Happ gave up four runs before leaving the mound and relievers Dustin McGowan, newcomer Rob Rasmussen, Steve Delabar, Aaron Loup and Casey Janssen all made it possible for a 7-4 win. For Janssen it was a fourth save in as many tries.

The next day, the Jays relied again on the long ball as the beat the Sox 6-4.

« Double E » went deep twice for a second day in a row and drove in three runs while Jose Reyes and Dioner Navarro added two hits and an RBI each.

Drew Hutchison pitched another strong game, giving up only one run on six hits over 5 2/3 innings as he registered his third win of the season.

Casey Janssen notched his fifth save as the Jays moved into a first place tie with the Yankees.

Finally, the Jays completed the sweep with a 7-2 win in Boston as they took over sole possession of first place in the East.

But it was not an easy task as they face Jon Lester… but the Jays’ hitter made it a lot easier as they scored seven runs in the first two innings.

Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista had back-to-back dingers in the first inning. Then, the Jays sent nine hitters to the plate in the second stanza and they added five more runs.

Mark Buehrle cruised to his eight win of the season, allowing only two runs on seven hits (no walks) over the first seven innings.  Dustin McGowan was perfect over the last two, facing the minimum of six Red Sox.

The sweep set up the next battle between the leaders of the East and the West.

The Jays gave the ball to Liam Hendricks, an Australian, just recalled from Buffalo. The 25-year old righthander was up to the task against the Best of the West, giving up a single run in five plus innings, a solo blast to Brandon Moss.

Steve Tolleson got the Jays going with his first homerun of the year, a two-run blast in the second inning, off Scott Kazmir.

Who else? Casey Janssen came in the ninth inning to register his sixth consecutive save of the year.

Should Hendricks become the fifth starter that the Jays have been looking for since the beginning of the season, one could say that the two minor deals that brought him and Juan Francisco to the Jays, could be the best deals that G-M Alex Anthopoulos has made since the beginning of the year!

The second game of the series proved that the Jays did not have to rely only on the long ball to win. They could do it with their legs too!

Yes, Brett Lawrie hit his 8^th homerun of the season, but the speed of Jose Reyes and Anthony Gose provided three runs, as the Jays won 5-2. Gose scored from first base on a hit by Cabrera that leftfielder Craig Gentry bobbled and later, Gose and Reyes (who was on second), both scored as a Cabrera grounder that was also bobbled by  Brandon Moss at first base.

R.A. Dickey held the A’s in check during the first eight inning before running out of gas in the ninth. McGowan and Cecil, who was credited with his third save, secured the win.

And on Sunday, J.A. Happ was in top form as the Jays completed their second sweep in a row. The tall southpaw shut out the A’s over the first seven innings as he notched his fourth win of the season, 3-1.

Edwin Encarnacion tied a Jays’ record with his 12^th homerun in the month of May (Bautista had done it in 2010) while Jose Reyes tied his personal record with three stolen bases.
Casey Janssen got his seventh save. The veteran reliever has now registered 23 saves in a row, dating back to last year.

Having won six games in a row and 26 of their last 21 games, the Jays were alone on top of the East Division.