Rasmus doubles off kid brother as Jays beat Braves

[May 28, 2013]  TORONTO (AP) -- Colby Rasmus got the best of his little brother -- and didn't feel too good about it.

Rasmus hit a two-run homer and later doubled off his younger brother, Cory, to lead the Toronto Blue Jays past the Atlanta Braves 9-3 on Monday night.

"It was a strange feeling," Colby Rasmus said. "Lot of emotions going on. It was awesome and terrible at the same time."

The brother vs. brother matchup wasn't as draining for Cory, a rookie reliever for the Braves who is about 15 months younger than Toronto's center fielder.

"It's not the outcome you wanted," he said. "It was still awesome."

Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer and J.P. Arencibia added a two-run shot for the Blue Jays, who lost third baseman Brett Lawrie to a sprained ankle.

Encarnacion went 2 for 5 with five RBIs as the Blue Jays improved to 3-0 in interleague play. Toronto has won nine of 12 against NL opponents dating to last season.

Mark Buehrle (2-3) surprised himself by allowing only one run and five hits in six innings to snap a seven-start winless streak and earn his 26th career interleague victory. The veteran left-hander, whose previous win was April 15, is the all-time leader in interleague wins.

"Today was probably the worst I've felt coming out of the bullpen this season," Buehrle said. "That just tells you how screwed up this game is. I've felt great coming out of the bullpen and got my butt handed to me. Today I was like, if I get through five innings it's going to be a miracle."

Buehrle walked two and struck out six. He retired 11 of his first 13 batters and didn't allow a hit until Evan Gattis' two-out double in the fourth.

"He made some pitches through the course of the night that kept us off balance," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

Brad Lincoln worked two innings and Thad Webber finished for the Blue Jays.

Lawrie left in the sixth after spraining his left ankle sliding into second on a stolen base. He initially stayed in the game but was visibly hobbled advancing to third on Emilio Bonifacio's grounder. Mark DeRosa came on to pinch run, then replaced Lawrie at third base.

The Blue Jays said he is day to day.

"I didn't feel a pop or anything like that, so that was a great sign to me," Lawrie said.

Gattis hit his 11th homer, a two-run shot off Lincoln in the eighth, but the Braves lost their second straight following an eight-game winning streak. Tim Hudson (4-4) matched a season worst by allowing six runs and eight hits in six innings, extending his winless streak to four starts.

"Obviously, the results stink for me right now and for our club," Hudson said. "I feel confident that things are going to be a lot better, hopefully really soon."

Adam Lind doubled leading off the second and, one out later, Colby Rasmus hit his eighth homer into the second deck.

"We got behind the 8-ball right off the get-go with that," Gonzalez said.

Toronto added two more in the third. Melky Cabrera walked, Jose Bautista doubled and both runners scored on Encarnacion's single.

Buehrle's shutout bid ended in the fifth when Chris Johnson doubled and scored on a two-out single by Andrelton Simmons.

After Lind walked to begin the sixth, Arencibia followed with a shot to center, his 12th.

Toronto put it away in the seventh against Cory Rasmus. Cabrera doubled, Bautista walked and Encarnacion hit a first-pitch homer, his team-high 14th.

Watching his brother give up Encarnacion's long drive didn't feel too good for Colby Rasmus.

"My gut kind of wrenched up a little bit," he said.

Two batters later, Rasmus doubled off his brother, the first time they had faced each other in the majors.

"I was hoping our brother would get the better end of that one, but he didn't," Gonzalez said.

It was the first time brothers had gone head-to-head in a big league game since June 13, 2010, when pitchers Jered and Jeff Weaver squared off in an interleague meeting between the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers.

NOTES: Braves OFs Jason Heyward and B.J. Upton were rested. Heyward had played nine straight games since returning from an appendectomy May 17. Upton is batting .148. ... Atlanta RHP Jordan Walden (shoulder) threw one scoreless inning in a rehab outing for Triple-A Gwinnett. ... Toronto RHP Esmil Rogers (1-2, 4.56 ERA) will make his first start of the season Wednesday at Atlanta. Rogers, who has made 22 relief appearances this year, last started for Colorado in 2011. ... Braves bench coach Carlos Tosca managed the Blue Jays from 2002-04.

[Associated Press; By IAN HARRISON]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.