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Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at the Rogers Centre on Monday.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press

The Toronto Blue Jays will welcome last season's 20-game winner, J.A. Happ, back into the fold Tuesday after a lengthy absence recovering from a left elbow strain.

And the injury-plagued American League outfit will be keeping its collective fingers crossed that the pitcher's recovery time has been sufficient to guard against a possible relapse.

The Blue Jays confirmed on Monday, prior to their game against Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds at Rogers Centre, that Happ will get the start Tuesday night in the second game of the three-game interleague set.

Happ will be the third straggler of late to battle his way back onto the roster, following last week's return of third baseman Josh Donaldson and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from lengthy injury leaves.

Tulowitzki, in just his third game back, punctuated his return with a grand slam jack that helped propel the Blue Jays to a 17-2 laugher over the Reds, helping Marcus Stroman earn his third straight victory in the process.

The run production represented a season high, by far, for Toronto as did the 23 hits, the third most in club history in any one game.

"Not surprised by any means," Stroman said of the offensive explosion. "I know what this team is capable of. We've had the same mentality from the very beginning.

"There've been a lot of external opinions but they never affect our internal mentality."

Combined with absences of other key personnel over the first two months of the season, including starting pitchers Aaron Sanchez and Francisco Liriano, Toronto's hopes of vying for a third straight playoff appearance have hit an early speed bump.

The Blue Jays – who have been rolling in the right direction of late, having won six of their past seven – can ill afford any more extended periods of subpar play or the loss of any more key personnel because of injury.

This is why Happ will be handled with kid gloves upon his return.

Liriano, recovering from a sore right shoulder, is a good bet to make his first start back on Friday against the visiting New York Yankees.

Toronto manager John Gibbons said the club doesn't really have a set pitch count for Happ, who last pitched at the big league level on April 16 against Baltimore before being yanked in the fifth inning due to elbow soreness.

An MRI did not reveal any structural damage, and Happ was able to avoid surgery, but there was never an explanation for what caused the elbow inflammation.

"We will watch him, kind of see how he's going," Gibbons said. "I don't want to put a number on it just yet. But it will be good to get him back out there.

"We thought we'd probably get as much out of him, we hope, as with bringing somebody up [from the minor leagues] and going that way, too."

A four-inning outing is about the best the Blue Jays could ask for from Happ, whose rehab primarily consisted of arm strengthening exercises and graduated throwing programs down in Dunedin, Fla., at the Blue Jays' training facility.

His only in-game competition since going down came on Thursday, when he made the start for the Dunedin Blue Jays, Toronto's Class-A advanced minor league affiliate.

It didn't go too well, either, as Happ was roughed up for three runs off seven hits over three innings of work.

He did throw another side session in Toronto on Sunday and came out of that feeling rosy.

But even Happ admitted that it is impossible to replicate the conditions he can expect pitching with the Blue Jays by working out in Florida.

"I pitched in an extended game at 10 a.m. on a backfield," Happ said. "No disrespect or anything, but it had been a minute and a while since I've done that.

"And no matter how amped up you try to get yourself, the adrenalin just isn't quite there like it would be when you hear the crowd and you're facing these hitters and you're on that mound."

The Blue Jays put Monday's game away early – scoring two in the second inning and another five in third, chasing beleaguered Reds starter Lisalverto Bonilla from the game.

The big blow was then provided by Tulowitzki, who greeted reliever Robert Stephenson with a grand slam, the fourth of his career, to break things wide open.

Toronto's 23 hits are the most a Cincinnati team has allowed since 1985.

"Those games are rare," Gibbons said. "You just feel sorry for Happ. He's got to pitch [on Tuesday], hope you didn't waste them all."

Justin Smoak clubbed his 12th home run and also drove in four off three hits. Russell Martin also went deep with one of his three hits and brought home three.

It all made for a fairly pedestrian evening for Stroman, who allowed two Reds runs off five hits over six innings to improve to 6-2 on the year.

Votto, who grew up in Etobicoke, west of Toronto, was rather quiet, going 0 for 3.

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