Athletics 5, Blue Jays 1, Alvarez drop despite solid work

Gio Gonzalez pitched eight perfect innings Saturday for his first victory in over a month and managed the Oakland Athletics a 5-1 win over Toronto.

Venezuelan starter Henderson Alvarez (0-1) took the loss for the Jays despite having a solid performance on the mound.

The right was given three consecutive hits in the bottom of the first inning, including the Japanese single by Hideki Matsui.

Eric Thames had two hits and scored the only run of Toronto, who did not have Jose Bautista. Bautista leads the majors with 35 homers but was ruled out with a strained neck.

For the Blue Jays, the Yunel Escobar 4-0. Edwin Encarnacion 4-1 with an RBI. Jose Molina 3-0.