TORONTO -- Detroits Austin Jackson lined the first pitch from Toronto starter Esmil Rogers into right-centre field for a leadoff single on Thursday night. It was all downhill from there for the Blue Jays. Jackson hit a two-run homer and scored four runs while Tigers starter Justin Verlander threw seven shutout innings as Detroit crushed Toronto 11-1 in front of 35,978 fans at Rogers Centre. Verlander (9-5) allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out five. Jackson had four of Detroits 16 hits and Don Kelly chipped in with three runs of his own. Maicer Izturis hit a two-out single in the ninth inning to bring Josh Thole home with Torontos only run. The Blue Jays managed just six hits on the night. "We didnt play good baseball," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "Plain and simple." Toronto (41-44) fell three games under the .500 mark and deeper into the American League East basement. Detroit (46-38) won the last three games of the four-game set to hand the Blue Jays their first home series loss in over two months. "A lot of times its not who youre playing, its when youre playing them," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "They didnt have (Edwin) Encarnacion for most of the series, Melky Cabrera is on the DL and banged up a little bit. Im very impressed with their bullpen, they keep bringing really good arms out of the bullpen. "I look for them to have a big second half. Theyre a good team. (Jose) Reyes hasnt been back too long. Theyre going to be really good in the second half. We just got them at the right time." The Blue Jays have dropped eight of 11 since going on an 11-game winning streak through mid-June. "We were on that nice little streak and then ran into a few buzzsaws," Gibbons said. "Tonight we just didnt have anything. It just wasnt a good ball game. We fell behind, Rogers got hit around pretty good and then Verlander, hes not going to give you much. "Even when hes not on, hes not going to give you much." Verlander was certainly on for this one, his first appearance at Rogers Centre since tossing a no-hitter on May 7, 2011. The veteran right-hander breezed through the Toronto lineup over the first half of the game. He was perfect until giving up a two-out single to Encarnacion in the fourth inning. "Verlander was just locked in and when a guys locked in, you dont play around," said Tigers right-fielder Torii Hunter. With the win, the Central Division-leading Tigers moved 1 1/2 games up on the Cleveland Indians, who dropped a 10-7 decision to the Kansas City Royals. "They swing, they swing pretty good over there," Gibbons said. "Going in you figure (slugger Miguel) Cabreras not in the lineup, you kind of like to see that. But it didnt matter tonight." In the first, Andy Dirks hit an RBI double off Rogers (3-4) and moved to third on a Hunter groundout. Dirks scored on a single by cleanup hitter Prince Fielder. The Tigers tacked on two more runs in the third inning. Jackson got things started again with a single and Dirks followed with a walk. Jackson came across on a double by Hunter and Dirks moved to third. After a Fielder strikeout, Rogers made a nice play by snagging a comebacker from Victor Martinez and chasing down Dirks in no-mans land for the second out. Jhonny Peralta doubled to score Hunter and make it a 4-0 game. With two runners in scoring position, Rogers got out of the jam when Alex Avila lined out to centre field. Izturis legged out an infield hit in the fifth and moved to second when Rajai Davis drew a walk. Izturis took third base on a J.P. Arencibia sacrifice fly but Munenori Kawasaki flied out to end the threat. Rogers was pulled after giving up three straight singles to open the sixth. All three runners came around to score. Jacksons single drove in Ramon Santiago, Kelly scored on a sacrifice fly by Hunter and Jackson came across on an infield single by Fielder. "He was missing off the plate a lot so that put him into a little bit of a jam," Gibbons said. "You can see when hes good, hes flipping his off-speed stuff in there, with a good slider, the occasional curveball and some change-ups. "That big two-seam fastball has been a big pitch for him lately but he couldnt keep that on the plate." Rogers allowed 11 hits, seven earned runs and two walks while striking out four. His earned-run average rose from 3.12 to 3.84. He felt his sinker wasnt effective, possibly due to a slight difference in his delivery. "It was a little bit slow -- my arm," he said. "I watched the video after the game and I saw my arm was a little longer than it is normally. Im going to get ready for the next (game)." Reyes led off the bottom of the sixth with a sharp single to right field. Encarnacion drew a one-out walk but Adam Lind hit into an inning-ending double play. The Tigers piled on with two more runs in the eighth inning. Jackson went deep off reliever Neil Wagner for his fifth home run of the season. Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen came on for some work in the ninth but was pulled after loading the bases and then issuing a one-out walk to Dirks. Hunter hit a sacrifice fly off Aaron Loup before Fielder was retired on a groundout. Notes: The Blue Jays will close out their seven-game homestand with a weekend series against the Minnesota Twins. Mark Buehrle (4-5) is expected to start the opener against Minnesotas Kevin Correia (6-5). ... The Tigers will continue their road trip with a four-game series at Cleveland. ... The game took three hours five minutes to play. ... The Blue Jays last home series loss came May 3-5 when they dropped two of three to the Seattle Mariners. Jerome Brown Jersey . -- Chris Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 1:36 left to put Memphis ahead to stay, and the 21st-ranked Tigers beat seventh-ranked Louisville 72-66 Saturday, sweeping the season series from the Cardinals. Nick Foles Jersey .C. -- Charles Oakley, one of the NBAs all-time tough guys, may not return to the Charlotte Bobcats bench next season because of a painful back condition he says was caused during an assault last year in Las Vegas. https://www.eaglessportsgoods.com/Customized/. "There are a lot of things that are going very well in this organization. Im not coming in here to rip things apart," Nicholson told reporters Friday. "I know what Hockey Canada was when I started, and I know where this (Oilers) organization is today. Herman Edwards Eagles Jersey . CBS Sports Jon Heyman is reporting that Santana will sign a one-year deal, likely in the next two days with one of a trio of suitors, with the Toronto Blue Jays believed to be heavily involved. Miles Sanders Youth Jersey . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers.Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Ty Lawson scored 14 of his 22 points during a dominant third quarter, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 118-108 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. Arron Afflalo added 22 points for the Nuggets, who have won four in a row. Jusuf Nurkic and J.J. Hickson each had 16 points, with Nurkic also pulling down eight boards and blocking three shots. Denver outscored Sacramento by a 36-15 margin in the third. DeMarcus Cousins ended with 32 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and three steals for the Kings, who got 22 points from Rudy Gay. Darren Collison contributed 15 points and seven assists. Trailing 60-54, the Nuggets started the second half on a 22-4 run to take the lead for good.dddddddddddd Lawson tallied 12 points during the surge that Darrell Arthur capped with two free throws for a 76-64 edge. Moments later, Denver used a 12-2 spurt to make it a 90-71 game. They shot 59.1 percent from the field in the period and took a 90-75 lead into the fourth. The Nuggets led by as many as 21 in the final frame. Denver was in front for most of the first half, but the Kings led by six at the break. Game Notes The Kings had won three straight against the Nuggets ... Kenneth Faried had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Denver, which shot 55.3 percent from the field ... Nik Stauskas tallied 13 points for Sacramento. ' ' '