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Stuck in an 11-game losing streak Darius Leonard Color Rush Jersey , the Detroit Tigers cleared the air with a pregame meeting. Then Nick Castellanos went out and cleared the bases with an important home run that helped stop Detroit’s slide.

Castellanos hit his fourth career grand slam, Jordan Zimmermann pitched seven strong innings and the Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-1 on Sunday.

Manager Ron Gardenhire scheduled the pregame meeting, a relaxed session in which players were invited to say whatever was on their mind. Castellanos called it an opportunity to ”just kind of address the elephant in the room.”

”It gave anybody a chance that wanted to speak up to speak up,” said Castellanos, adding that Victor Martinez, James McCann and Gardenhire were among those who talked.

JaCoby Jones hit a two-run homer as the Tigers won for the first time since June 17, when they completed a three-game road sweep of the Chicago White Sox.

Castellanos nearly hit another home run in the ninth but Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar made a leaping catch at the wall.

”I felt like I was going to have a chance to make a play,” Pillar said. ”A ball like that hit as high as it is it allows me time to kind of track the ball and track the fence and go up to try to make a play. ”

Castellanos stopped on the basepaths to applaud Pillar’s catch before turning and heading back to the dugout.

”What else can you say the end of the day besides `What a play,”’ Castellanos said. ”It sucks it had to happen to me but plays like that have to happen to somebody.”

Niko Goodrum had a career-high four hits and Jose Iglesias had two hits and two RBIs for Detroit, which had lost 12 of 14 at Rogers Centre.

”That was a fun win, a really fun with with a lot of great swings,” Gardenire said.

Zimmermann (3-0) allowed one run and five hits in his third start since returning from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss more than a month.

”He had a great curveball today,” Gardenhire said. ”That’s probably the best curveball I’ve seen all year out of him.”

Wearing red jerseys and caps for Canada Day, the Blue Jays couldn’t deliver a win for the holiday crowd of 37,445.

Tigers outfielder Leonys Martin left with a sore left hamstring after his bases-loaded bunt single in the fifth brought home Detroit’s first run. Martin was replaced by Victor Reyes.

Following the game Braden Smith Color Rush Jersey , Gardenhire said Martin would be placed on the 10-day disabled list. A corresponding roster move will be made before Monday afternoon’s series finale.

Castellanos followed with his 13th home run, a shot that bounced off the top of the wall in right. It was his first grand slam since Sept. 8, 2017, also against Toronto.

Castellanos also made a fine catch in right, reaching back to grab Russell Martin’s line drive for the final out of the fourth.

Iglesias chased Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ (10-4) with a two-out, two-run single in the sixth.

Happ matched season-worsts by allowing seven runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings.

”It’s not a pretty outing and I own that,” Happ said.

Happ had won six consecutive decisions since his previous defeat, May 10 against Seattle.

Teoscar Hernandez tripled in the first and scored on a two-out double by Justin Smoak, but Zimmermann recovered to retire the next nine Blue Jays batters.

For the second straight game, the roof was closed at Rogers Centre because of high heat and humidity.

MUSIC MAN

Blue Jays RHP John Axford complied a list of more than 500 songs by Canadian artists and has been playing his mix in the clubhouse all weekend. Axford’s `Oh Canada!’ playlist can be streamed using the online music service Spotify.

NOT YOUR DAY

The Blue Jays are 14-26 on Canada Day, including a 12-17 mark at home.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: RHP Alex Wilson, who left in the eighth inning Saturday because of a sore left calf, was not available. … RHP Drew VerHagen (nasal fracture) pitched one scoreless inning for Triple-A Toledo Saturday night, his first rehab appearance. VerHagen has been out since June 20.

Blue Jays: Toronto optioned utilityman Darnell Sweeney to Triple-A Buffalo after the game and will make a corresponding roster move Monday.

UP NEXT

Tigers RHP Mike Fiers (5-4, 4.04) faces Blue Jays LHP Ryan Borucki (0-1 Kemoko Turay Color Rush Jersey , 3.00) in Monday afternoon’s series finale. Fiers is 0-2 with a 5.91 ERA in two career starts at Rogers Centre. Borucki made his major league debut at Houston last Tuesday, allowing two runs in six innings.

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DENVER — Antonio Senzatela will join the Colorado Rockies rotation Tuesday, returning to the majors after two months at Triple-A and making his first start in the big leagues since Aug. 28.

Senzatela will take the turn of Jon Gray, whom the Rockies optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque last Wednesday. A member of Colorado’s Opening Day roster, Senzatela began the season as a long reliever and went 2-1 with a 6.23 ERA in 10 appearances.

The Rockies optioned Senzatela, 23, to Albuquerque on May 4. They wanted to have him build up arm strength to again start, feeling his ultimate value was in that role rather than in the bullpen.

Chris Stratton (8-5, 4.45) will oppose Senzatela as the Giants look to even the three-game series after losing 5-2 on Monday.

Senzatela went 3-1, 2.15 in eight starts at Albuquerque with 12 walks, 42 strikeouts and one home run allowed in 37 2/3 innings. He was forced out of a June 6 start in the first inning due to a right groin strain and didn’t start again until June 23 when he threw 74 pitches in 3 1/3 innings and allowed two runs (one earned). Senzatela threw a season-high 90 pitches Wednesday against Sacramento and allowed three hits in 7 2/3 scoreless innings.

Despite having never pitched at the Triple-A level, Senzatela was part of Colorado’s Opening Day rotation in 2017 and was the National League Rookie of the Month for April when he went 3-1, 2.81 in five starts.

He ended the season 10-5, 4.68 in 36 games (20 starts), and Rockies manager Bud Black said that experience should benefit Senzatela Tyquan Lewis Color Rush Jersey , whom the Rockies moved to the bullpen last year when he began to wear down and to monitor his innings. After pitching just 34 2/3 innings at Double-A in 2016, Senzatela threw 134 2/3 innings for the Rockies last season.

“He’s a year older,” Black said. “He’s throwing the ball well. He was our best pitcher the first two months last year, so he’s done it before. Last year, he just ran out of gas.

“I’m excited about Senza. We’ve seen Senza on this stage before in the big leagues and perform and pitch well. And he’s coming off a pretty good stretch of games in Albuquerque, especially his last one. He was nicked up a little bit with a leg problem, but he’s over that. You look at the collective numbers of what he did in Albuquerque, it’s good pitching.”

Senzatela is 3-0, 4.24 in five games (three starts) against the Giants and 9-3, 5.28 in 23 games (11 starts) at Coors Field.

The Giants are 11-6 in games started by Stratton, who was not involved in the decision Wednesday at San Francisco when he faced the Rockies and gave up eight hits and five runs in four innings in San Francisco’s 9-8 loss.

Stratton is 1-0, 6.19 in four games (three starts) against the Rockies. In two starts against them this season, he is 1-0, 8.00. At Coors Field, Stratton is 0-0 3.86 in two games (one start).

Stratton Nyheim Hines Color Rush Jersey , 27, made seven relief appearances for the Giants in 2016 and last year went 4-4, 3.68 in 13 games (10 starts) for them.

“Strat came up last year and was really impressive with his overall stuff and his command of it,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Got off to a great start this year. He’s had a couple hiccups; he did (his) last start. But he handles everything well. Four-pitch guy.”

Stratton has had to assume more responsibility this season as Giants starters Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija were sidelined with injuries — the latter two are still out. Dereck Rodriguez, Andrew Suarez and Derek Holland have stepped in and helped stabilize the rotation behind Stratton.

“You see he has a sense of belonging up here,” Bochy said. “He was kind of our guy. Now the rest of the guys have picked up their pitching. But Strat with Bum down, Cueto down, Samardzija down, he became like the guy. He was the one leading the staff.”