Toronto Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion (10) is congratulated by Jose Bautista, center, and Josh Donaldson, right, following Encarnacion's grand slam during the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, in Arlington, Texas.Tony Gutierrez/The Associated Press
The Toronto Blue Jays were in good shape heading into their contest here against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night.
The New York Yankees, the team that the Blue Jays are battling for top spot in the American League East standing, had already lost earlier in the day.
And Toronto was sending their ace, David Price, to the mound – and on his 30th birthday no less.
The Blue Jays capitalized on all the good karma, pounding out three home runs, including a grand slam off the bat of the red-hot Edwin Encarnacion, to crush the Rangers 12-4 at Globe Life Park.
For the Blue Jays (71-55), it was their fifth win in a row and increased their lead over the Yankees to two games after the Yankees lost 6-2 to the Houston Astros.
The last time the Blue Jays enjoyed that big a lead atop the standing this late in the year was the final day of the season in 1993, when they went on to win the World Series.
And the Blue Jays, after crushing a quality Los Angeles Angels outfit in three in California before heading into Texas, are now poised at doing the same to a tough Rangers' outfit also vying for the playoffs.
"That would be huge," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "We really can't be playing any better than we're playing right now, so we'll see."
The game was tight through the first four innings with the score deadlocked at 2-2 before Toronto started to pull away.
Toronto leftfielder Ben Revere certainly helped the cause with a fabulous catch off Delino DeShields leading off the third inning for Texas.
The line drive sent Revere scampering back and he timed his leap at the wall perfectly to snatch away a hit.
"It was one of those deals, I was kind of peeking, looking," Revere said. "I think, OK, I might have a chance and luckily it fell into my glove.
"Two of the guys said I was Spiderman a little bit, hanging onto the fence."
Price was certainly impressed.
"I hugged him after we got out of that inning and I told him that was hands down the best birthday gift I've ever received," Price said. "That was the first time I've ever pitched on my birthday. It's a coin flip between that catch and I guess 12 runs."
Justin Smoak belted his 13th home run of the year in the fifth, a two-run shot off Rangers starter Colby Lewis before things went totally awry in the sixth.
Smoak drove in three of the Toronto runs in the game.
In the sixth, the Blue Jays sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring six runs highlighted by Encarnacion's grand slam, his 26th home run of the season.
In the process, Encarnacion extended his hit streak to 21 games and sent most of the crowd streaming for the exits.
Kevin Pillar would also homer for Toronto in the frame, his eighth of the season.
It all made for a rather easy night for Price, who regrouped after being touched up for two runs off two hits in the first inning where Texas jumped in front 2-0.
Price would go on to improve his record to 14-4, allowing just two runs off five hits over six innings before he was pulled with the game out of hand.
The game marked the 20th time this season that the Blue Jays have scored 10 or more runs in a game, a franchise record, breaking the old mark of 19 set in 2003.
With the loss, the Rangers (64-61) have relinquished their hold on the second wild card playoff spot to the surging Minnesota Twins.