TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays have come close to falling out of first place in the American League East thanks to a recent slide. Jason Taylor Womens Jersey . An excellent start from Drew Hutchison and the return of Jose Bautista helped provide a little breathing room in the divisional race while ending a three-game losing skid at the same time. Hutchison struck out a season-high 10 batters and Bautista belted one of two Toronto homers as the Blue Jays defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1 in front of a sellout crowd on Canada Day at Rogers Centre. The Toronto right-hander was dominant early on, retiring the first 14 batters he faced. Three relievers combined on the four-hitter as the Blue Jays moved 1 1/2 games ahead of second-place Baltimore. "When hes on, hes on," Toronto manager John Gibbons said of his starter. "He can be really, really good." The Orioles were scheduled to play the Texas Rangers later Tuesday. Bautista, meanwhile, gave his team an early lead with a no-doubt blast off Marco Estrada (7-5) that hit the facing of the second deck. It was the first start for the Toronto slugger since he strained his left hamstring on June 22. Colby Rasmus hit a solo shot in the fifth inning for the Blue Jays (46-39), who added some late insurance with a two-run eighth inning. Hutchison improved to 6-6 with his sixth quality start of the season. "A dynamite fastball and a good breaking ball," Gibbons said. "He got lots of strikeouts. Theyre a very aggressive hitting team over there so he got a lot of strikeouts up in the zone. But his fastball had a little extra life." The Toronto skipper showed his faith in Hutchison by leaving him out there after loading the bases in the seventh. He got out of the jam when Jean Segura lined out to right field. "I want to be in there in those situations," Hutchison said. "I believe in myself to make a pitch to get out of that so to have that (confidence) from (Gibbons), it was nice to be able to have that and then get out of it." Aaron Loup, Dustin McGowan and Casey Janssen completed the four-hitter. Janssen worked the ninth inning for his 13th save. "We didnt get a lot of hits," said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke. "A lot of strikeouts, not a lot of hits." Bautista was the designated hitter and he returned to his No. 3 position in the lineup for his first start in nine days. He got the crowd of 45,088 into the game early by turning on a 3-2 pitch for his 16th homer of the year. "Hes a pretty good hitter," Gibbons said. "Were not quite the (same) team without him, thats for sure." Hutchison already had eight strikeouts before Khris Davis reached on an infield single in the fifth to become Baltimores first baserunner. Davis hit a ground ball up the middle that Jose Reyes did well to retrieve. The shortstop was forced to make a hurried off-balance throw that pulled Edwin Encarnacion off the bag at first base. Rasmus made it a two-run game in the bottom of the frame. He turned on an 0-1 pitch for his 12th homer of the year. Milwaukee (51-34) halved the lead in the sixth inning. Leadoff man Scooter Gennett reached on a flare to left field and Ryan Braun drove him in with a double into the right-field corner. Estrada was pulled for southpaw sidearmer Zach Duke after giving up a walk to Encarnacion and a single to Dioner Navarro in the bottom of the seventh. Duke retired the next three Blue Jays in order to keep it a one-run game. Loup hit the lone batter he faced, putting pinch-hitter Rickie Weeks on to open the eighth. McGowan came on and got Braun to hit into a 4-6-3 double play. McGowan walked Jonathan Lucroy and then fanned Carlos Gomez with a 96 mile-per-hour heater. In the eighth, Melky Cabrera drove in a run with a triple and scored on an Encarnacion double. "We played (well) today on an important day for us to win a game -- it seems like its been a while," Gibbons said. "Its Canada Day in front of a nice crowd. You dont want to lay an egg on that day. So it was a good day for us." Hutchison allowed three hits, one earned run and walked a pair. He threw 66 of his 105 pitches for strikes. "He was our win," said Rasmus. "Everything revolves around the starting pitcher. He came in and did a good job, kept them off balance, kept the ball up in the zone and kept them swinging and missing. He did a great job." Estrada gave up six hits, two earned runs and a walk while striking out two. Notes: The game took two hours 56 minutes to play. ... Blue Jays wore their red and white jerseys for Canada Day. ... It was Torontos sixth sellout of the season. ... IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ont., threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... Hockey commentator Don Cherry received a nice ovation from the crowd when he was shown on the video scoreboard in the fourth inning. ... Elian Herrera replaced Davis in left field in the seventh inning. ... The teams will close out the mini-series with another matinee on Wednesday. Left-hander J.A. Happ (7-4, 4.29) is scheduled to start against Milwaukee right-hander Wily Peralta (9-5, 3.20). ... The Blue Jays will kick off a 10-game road trip with the opener of a four-game series against Oakland on Thursday. ... Toronto leads the major leagues with 110 home runs. ... The Blue Jays are now 13-23 in Canada Day games. Larry Csonka Youth Jersey . TSN 1290s coverage begins with Hustler & Lawless at 3pm. Rick Ralph hosts the Official Jets Pre-game Show at 5pm. Mark Duper Jersey . Nine years later, he might have finally figured it out. He had only five rounds in the 60s in his previous eight trips. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Christian-Wilkins-Jersey/ . Hes recovered from a scary injury and cleared to play. Mingo, who was hospitalized with a bruised lung he sustained in an Aug. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- George Springer has more home runs in the past four games than any Kansas City player does this season. Springer homered in his fourth straight game and went 4 for 4 with three RBIs and five runs scored in the Houston Astros 9-2 victory over the Royals on Monday night. "Springer was absolutely tremendous, just line drive after line drive," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "He was special. The two doubles and the home run, the great catch in right field and scoring from second base on a bloop single that not many guys would have been able to score on. He impacted the game in every phase tonight. "This guy is a three-way player. He can impact the game when hes in the batters box. He can impact the game on defence. He can impact the game on the basepaths. He brings it every day, is what I love about him." The Astros have won three straight, matching their longest winning streak this season, and they snapped a six-game losing streak to the Royals. Springer led off the eighth with a home run against Louis Coleman, his fifth homer in four games. The Royals home run leader has four. Springer is the first Houston rookie to homer in four straight games. Lance Berkman was the previous Astros player to do it, in July 2010. "Hes impressive," said Eric Hosmer, robbed by Springer of an extra-base hit with a superb catch to end the seventh inning. "He plays hard and doesnt get cheated at the plate. He drives the ball." Springer also had two doubles and became the first Astros player to score five runs in a game since Cody Ransom on Sept. 24, 2007, against St. Louis. Springer extended his hitting streak to eight games, and is 8 for 16 with 11 RBIs and 10 runs in the past five. It was a magical night for him. "I guess," Springer said. "But at the same time, Im just trying to help the team win and whatever way I can do it, Im happy to help." Scott Feldman (3-2) held the Royals to two runs and eight hits over six innings. "I thought Scott did a tremendous job with his secondary stuff," Porter said. Michael Deiter Womens Jersey. "His curveball had a really good bite and he did a good job for six strong innings." Royals rookie starter Yordano Ventura was led off the field by a trainer in the third inning after experiencing discomfort in his elbow. The hard-throwing right-hander is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday. "He was getting under pitches and his velocity dropped in the third inning," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "I came out and decided to check it. I talked to him in the second inning and he said, Yeah, its good. I went out and he told me he was feeling a little something in the back of his elbow, but its on the outside, not on the inside." Ventura (2-5) went 2 2-3 innings, yielding five runs on seven hits and three walks before being replaced by Michael Mariot. "In the third inning, I threw a few pitches and it started to feel a little weird," Ventura said. "I felt something unnatural. It was a little uncomfortable, unnatural, and I decided to say something." The Astros had a season-high 16 hits, including a career-high four from Marwin Gonzalez, who had a double, an RBI and a run scored. Alex Presley added three hits and Dexter Fowler reached base five times with two hits and three walks. The nine runs matched an Astros season high. Lorenzo Cain had four hits, equaling his career high, and drove in a run for the Royals, who have lost five of seven. NOTES: Royals 2B Omar Infante (lower back) was activated from the disabled list and doubled in the first inning. RHP Casey Coleman was optioned to Triple-A Omaha. ... Astros RHP Brad Peacock, scratched from Fridays scheduled outing with forearm stiffness, threw a bullpen session and was given the OK to start Thursday against Baltimore. ... Royals LHP Bruce Chen, on the disabled list with a bulging disk, threw a 25-pitch simulated game. Chen could soon go on a minor league rehab assignment. ... The Astros recalled OF Robbie Grossman from Triple-A Oklahoma City. ' ' '