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Santana goes the distance as Angels beat Jays

Aug 13, 2011 - 5:04 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Ervin Santana threw his fourth complete game of the season and Vernon Wells homered in his return to Rogers Centre, helping the Angels to a 5-1 victory over the Blue Jays.

Santana (9-8) took a shutout into the ninth inning before Eric Thames ruined it with a homer. But that was the only run he allowed in another stellar start.

Over his last five outings -- all wins -- Santana has allowed only four earned runs and tossed three complete games. His effort Friday, the opener of a three-game series, helped the Angels snap a two-game slide.

Wells gave the Angels their first run with his second-inning blast. The outfielder spent 12 seasons with the Blue Jays before they dealt him away this past offseason. He had faced his former club in California earlier this season, but hadn't returned to his former home.

It was a successful trip back for Wells, who received a standing ovation moments before hitting his home run off Brandon Morrow.

Morrow (8-7) allowed five runs -- four earned -- in seven innings to take the loss. He gave up four hits and matched a season high with four walks.

He also didn't receive much help from his offense, and Toronto fell to 1-3 on its homestand.

"They played very good, they played sharp. Santana was outstanding on the mound," said Blue Jays manager John Farrell. "Thames gives us a little bit of life late with the solo home run, but not many opportunities that we created for ourselves tonight."

The Blue Jays fell behind thanks to Wells, who came to bat for the first time in the top of the second inning. It was his first plate appearance at Rogers Center since his long tenure with the franchise ended.

The Blue Jays made Wells the fifth overall pick of the 1997 draft, and by 2002 he was a mainstay in the lineup. The following year he led baseball in hits.

Wells won three Gold Glove awards, and in the 2006 offseason he signed a seven-year, $126 million backloaded deal that took effect in 2008. Then his offensive production dipped, he missed time with an injury, and despite hitting 31 homers in 2010, Wells and his contract were dealt away.

But the Toronto crowd still showed him appreciation Friday, giving him a standing ovation.

Wells doffed his helmet in appreciation, then stepped to the plate and blasted Morrow's first pitch -- a hanging slider -- over the left-center field wall, rounding the bases to boos.

"We kind of joked in the clubhouse a little bit: 'If you do get a standing O, they can turn to boos in a heartbeat if you hit a homer,'" Wells said. "I obviously didn't see that happening, but it was a cool moment, and obviously a moment I'll never forget."

The Angels tacked on three runs in the next inning, which Peter Bourjos began with a walk. Morrow retired the next two batters on a sacrifice bunt and a pop-up, but couldn't end the inning.

Bourjos scored on a single by Alberto Callaspo, who moved to second on a throwing error by right fielder Jose Bautista. Morrow walked Bobby Abreu before Torii Hunter doubled off the right field wall, plating both runners for a 4-0 lead.

Hunter scored the Angels' fifth run thanks to a few more Blue Jays mishaps. He reached on a Morrow error to start the sixth, then raced home on Russell Branyan's double, when Bautista committed another error.

Santana, meanwhile, avoided trouble. The Angels defense turned double plays in the first and fourth, and caught two baserunners in the third -- Jose Molina was thrown out trying to reach third on a double, and Brett Lawrie was caught stealing second.

The right-hander pitched out of a minor jam in the eighth, when Toronto had two on and two out before Lawrie hit a grounder to second.

Thames ruined Santana's shutout in the ninth, when he hit a slider to right- center field with one out.

Suddenly, Santana's start eerily mirrored his last, when he gave up a homer to Seattle's Mike Carp with one down in the final inning. Santana was pulled because the homer made it a one-run game, but he was allowed to stay in Friday and used another double play to finish what he started.

Game Notes

Molina and Thames both had a game-high two hits...Wells' homer was his 17th of the season...Wells had hit 1-for-13 in his first three games against Toronto in 2011.