Behind Buehrle, Jays complete sweep of Twins

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[August 07, 2015]  (The Sports Xchange) - Mark Buehrle did not feel so great on the mound on Thursday.

However, the Toronto left-hander said he still felt great about his team, and the Blue Jays backed him up by defeating the Minnesota Twins 9-3 to complete a sweep of the four-game series.

Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion led the way with a homer, two doubles and four RBIs.

"If it's a rookie pitching or a guy that's been around for a while, we've got that feel of whose butt are we going to kick today," said Buehrle, who pitched seven innings and allowed five hits and one walk while striking out one.

"That's a good feeling. We haven't had that the couple of years I've been here."

Left fielder Ben Revere added three hits and three runs for the Blue Jays (58-52), who won their fifth consecutive game.

"It's a better team, no question about that," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

"We're feeling good right now, and we continue to swing the bats well, we've done it all year. Eddie's started to heat it up these last few games, and that's big for us.

"Buehrle got another win tonight. He labored most of the game. I thought he was a little bit off, but he gives up three runs, so you tip your hat to the guy."

Third baseman Trevor Plouffe hit a two-run homer and center fielder Aaron Hicks added a solo shot for the Twins, who lost their fifth in a row.

"They're playing well, they're playing confidently, and they kind of took it to us for four days," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.

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"Right now, it doesn't feel good at all. It's how you get there, and we're going the wrong way. The light went out here a couple of hours ago."

Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson (8-9) allowed eight runs on nine hits and three walks and had four strikeouts in 4-2/3 innings.

"There aren't too many teams going to beat that team over there," Twins right fielder Torii Hunter said.

"They've got a great squad. The way they hit the ball is just unbelievable.

"When they hit the ball, it sounds like car crashes. They're one of the best teams in baseball, offensively."

(Compiled by Greg Stutchbury)

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