SEATTLE -- With the Seattle Mariners making a push for their first playoff appearance since 2001, Kendrys Morales might be the perfect hitter to help make it happen. Ketel Marte Jersey . Morales, acquired from Minnesota before the trade deadline, hit a two-run home run in the first inning to back a stellar start by Hisashi Iwakuma and lead the Mariners to a 2-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night. Morales homer was his second in three at-bats, a span that started Tuesday night, and helped Seattle complete a sweep of the three-game series. Morales has four extra-base hits in three games, twice what he recorded in his first 15 games with the club since joining the team. "He brought it as soon as he got here -- respectability, stretch the lineup out," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He hasnt got the results he wanted, but I was happy to see him in there right from the start." Iwakuma (11-6) failed to finish seven innings for the first time in eight starts, but the right-hander still struck out five without issuing a walk in 6 2-3 innings. It is the seventh time in that stretch Iwakuma has allowed two runs or fewer. "Its a big series," Iwakuma said through an interpreter. "Winning two ... was big and I needed to finish up the series strong." Three relievers bridged the gap to closer Fernando Rodney, who earned his 35th save in 38 chances. The Mariners won eight of nine on their homestand and remained tied with Detroit for the American Leagues second wild card. The Blue Jays lost for the ninth time in 12 games to drop three games behind the final playoff berth. "We have been streaky, both good and bad, and we are due for a good one," Toronto starter R.A. Dickey said. Dickey (9-12) was shaky at times, but only allowed two runs and seven hits with four walks in six innings. The Mariners threatened on numerous occasions to extend the lead, but Dickey was able to strand at least two runners three separate times. The third proved to be the veterans greatest escape act, perhaps, as he avoided a one-out runners-on-the-corners situation by inducing a double-play grounder. TRAINERS ROOM Mariners: OF Michael Saunders will return to Triple-A Tacoma to continue his rehab assignment after leaving the team to attend the birth of his second child, a son. Saunders, on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique, will need more at-bats in the minors before rejoining the Mariners. Blue Jays: 1B Edwin Encarnacion (strained right quadriceps) went 1 for 4 while playing all nine innings in the field on Wednesday for Triple-A Buffalo, which keeps him on track to rejoin the team on Friday in Chicago. UP NEXT Mariners: Seattle looks to continue its strong play in Detroit on Friday as left-hander James Paxton, 5-0 in his career, makes the start. Blue Jays: After a miserable start to an eight-game road swing, Toronto will get a day off before attempting to capture its first win of the trip against the White Sox. MORALES HITS TORONTO Morales is hitting .440 (11 for 25) with two home runs and six RBI against the Blue Jays this year, and is just .198 (39 for 197) against all other teams. SHUTDOWN PITCHING The Mariners extended their club record to 12 consecutive games allowing three runs or fewer. Their previous high was nine games, done from June 1-11, 2009. ROAD BLUES The Blue Jays have lost six straight road games and have five more on the trip before returning to Toronto. Randy Johnson Jersey . Mauer struck out to end the inning, with a runner on third base in the seventh on Wednesday and the Twins trailing 1-0. Everybody does this, of course, in a sport with a 30 per cent success rate at the plate long proven to be a benchmark of excellence. Paul Goldschmidt Jersey . On a hot, sweaty day, the Hall of Famer looked cool and comfortable. http://www.diamondbacksteamshop.com/Diamondbacks-Patrick-Corbin-Kids-Jersey/ . The Pope greeted Klose at his general audience Wednesday and the pair had a long chat. Klose is German like the pope, although he was born in Poland. In Sundays derby, Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Klose, resulting in the Roma goalkeeper being sent off and a penalty that Hernanes converted.The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to look for centre options in light of Nazem Kadris three game suspension. Kadri was dressed in a green jersey at Thursdays practice and skated as an extra forward on the teams fourth line as the Leafs.. Kadri was handed a three-game suspension by the league for his hit to Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom during Wednesday nights game. Kadri was also assessed a match penalty later in Wednesday nights game for a hit to the head of Wild forward Mikael Granlund. James van Riemsdyk lined up between Phil Kessel and Mason Raymond at Leafs practice on Thursday. Jay McClement moved up to the second line, centring Joffrey Lupul and David Clarkson. Jerred Smithson centred Carter Ashton and Nikolai Kulemin on the third line, while Kadri skated on a fourth line that included Troy Bodie in between Frazer McLaren and Colton Orr. The Leafs are alreaady stretched thin at centre thanks to injuries to Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland. Shelby Miller Jersey. Bozak resumed on-ice activity this week but is still nursing a lower body injury. He was placed on the injured reserve on Oct. 27 and was expected to miss at least 7-10 days. Bolland will be out indefinitely with a leg laceration he suffered in Saturdays game against the Vancouver Canucks. He was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 4 and is expected to be out for a matter of months. Other centre-ice options for the Leafs include moving Raymond to the middle from his more familiar position on the wing like they did with van Riemsdyk. Another option is Trevor Smith, who is currently with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. Smith has one goal in nine games with the Leafs this season. If the Leafs look beyond Smith to the Marlies, their current crop of centres includes Sam Carrick, Andrew Crescenzi and Greg McKegg. Cheap Denver Nuggets Jerseys Cheap Minnesota Timberwolves Jerseys Cheap Oklahoma City Thunder Jerseys Cheap Portland Trail Blazers Jerseys Cheap Utah Jazz Jerseys Cheap Los Angeles Clippers Jerseys Cheap Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys Cheap Phoenix Suns Jerseys Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Cheap Dallas Mavericks Jerseys Cheap Houston Rockets Jerseys Cheap Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys Cheap New Orleans Pelicans Jerseys Cheap San Antonio Spurs Jerseys Cheap Golden State Warriors Jerseys ' ' '