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TORONTO -- When Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow is on his game, his stuff can be electric and will often leave opposing hitters handcuffed. He displayed that dominant form in a solid six-inning performance Wednesday night as Toronto defeated the Houston Astros 7-3 at Rogers Centre. Morrow struck out nine batters as the Blue Jays (5-4) locked up their first series win of the young season and moved over the .500 mark in the process. The veteran right-hander was hitting the high 90s with his fastball and retired the first nine batters in order, fanning six along the way. "He was throwing the crap out of the ball ... he was using all of his pitches really (well) and he gave us a real shot to win the game," said Toronto catcher Dioner Navarro. The Blue Jays staked Morrow to an early two-run lead and gave him a 5-0 cushion after five innings. The Astros battled back with three runs in the sixth before Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., provided some insurance with a two-run shot an inning later for his first homer of the season. "They stung us there and battled back and got within reaching distance there, so it was good to put us back on top and put it out of reach later in the game," Lawrie said. Melky Cabrera, Maicer Izturis and Navarro had two hits apiece as Toronto outhit the Astros 10-6. Morrow (1-1) struck out the side in the first inning. The Astros didnt put a man on base until the fourth, when leadoff man Dexter Fowler walked and moved to third on Jason Castros one-out single. That didnt faze Morrow -- he struck out cleanup man Jose Altuve and fanned Chris Carter to get out of the jam. "He was throwing a lot of split-fingers and sliders and we were kind of fishing at them," said Astros outfielder Alex Presley. Morrow allowed five hits and three earned runs in his first quality start since May 5th, 2013. It was the first time he had struck out at least nine batters in a game since an 11-strikeout performance against the Minnesota Twins on Oct. 3, 2012. "I thought he was very aggressive tonight and he had that look about him too," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "I mean he was confident, but thats what hes capable of doing ... its something to build off of." Torontos timely hitting and some poor defensive play by the Astros helped the Blue Jays score three runs in the fifth. Cabrera singled, stole second and scored on a single by Izturis. Jose Bautista walked and the runners advanced when Edwin Encarnacion grounded out weakly to the first-base side. After Adam Lind was intentionally walked to load the bases, Navarro hit a tailor-made double play ball to Matt Dominguez but the third baseman made an errant throw that allowed two runs to score. The Astros did all of their damage in the sixth inning. Fowler singled to centre and Presley followed with a two-run homer to deep right-centre field. Altuve tripled and scored when Carter grounded out. Encarnacion made a nice play at first base by short-hopping a chopper from Marc Krauss and stepping on the bag for the third out. In the bottom of the sixth, Ryan Goins reached on a walk but was later picked off by Williams. Gibbons came out to talk to the umpire but didnt challenge the call as the replays the Blue Jays saw were inconclusive. Triple-A callup Neil Wagner came on in the seventh inning and retired the Astros in order. Lawrie turned on a 2-1 pitch from Josh Zeid, who relieved Williams after he left the game due to a right groin strain. Toronto reliever Steve Delabar recorded one out in the ninth before taking a liner off his lower right leg. He limped off the field and was replaced by Esmil Rogers, who got the final two outs. Announced attendance was 13,569 and the game took three hours nine minutes to play. The Blue Jays will go for a sweep of the three-game series on Thursday night. Notes: Toronto ace R.A. Dickey (1-1) is scheduled to face Houston left-hander Dallas Keuchel (0-1) in the series finale. ... Before the game, the Blue Jays recalled Wagner from the Buffalo Bisons and optioned fellow right-hander Marcus Walden to the triple-A club. ... Izturis was moved from the No. 8 spot to the second position in the batting order. He went 2-for-3 to improve his batting average to .459. ... Toronto split a four-game series at Tampa Bay to open the season before dropping a weekend set to the New York Yankees. ... Delabar said he iced his leg after the game and would probably get the day off Thursday. ... Navarro stole a base in the seventh inning. It was his first steal since a game on Sept. 7, 2009 against the Yankees. MacKenzie Weegar Jersey . Nainggolan scored his first Italian league goal at Bologna, in October 2010, and he also opened his Roma account there following his January move from Cagliari. The Belgium midfielder volleyed home Miralem Pjanics cross from close range eight minutes from time. MacKenzie Weegar Panthers Jersey . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. http://www.hockeypanthersofficialonline.com/evgenii-dadonov-hockey-jersey/ ." One game is checked off, 15 remain and the next one to get crossed out could come Tuesday night when the defending champion Heat host the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series. Ian McCoshen Panthers Jersey . The Suns termed Fridays surgery by team doctor Thomas Carter a success. No timetable was given for Bledsoes return but the team said in a news release that he "will pursue a possible return to action during the second half" of the season. Henrik Borgstrom Panthers Jersey . Dwyane Wade followed a few days later.VIRGINIA WATER, England -- Thomas Bjorn birdied seven of his last eight holes Saturday to grab a five-shot lead after the third round of the BMW PGA Championship. The 43-year old Dane fought back from a double bogey on the first hole by making six straight birdies from the 11th and then adding another one at the last for a 5-under 67. His 15-under total of 201 put him five shots clear of Luke Donald at the European Tours flagship event at Wentworth. Donald, a two-time former BMW PGA winner, birdied his closing two holes for a 68. Irelands Shane Lowry shared the overnight lead with Bjorn but shot a 73 to sit another shot back in third. Rory McIlroy was in a tie for fourth after a 69, seven shots behind Bjorn. Bjorn is competing in the event for the 17th time, but publicly disagreed with changes to the famed Surrey course in 2010 and skipped the event the following year. He returned in in 2012 to finish 37th and then further down the board in 40th place last year. "Im starting to warm to this place," Bjorrn said.dddddddddddd "But after the double at the first it was just a question of trying to hang in and trying to get the best out of it and just see if you can roll in a few putts here and there. That happened, and probably a bit in excess on the back nine." A win would earn Bjorn one of the biggest prize cheques of his career US$1.059 million, and would also cement his place in Septembers European Ryder Cup team and a first appearance in 12 years since being a member of the victorious 2002 team. The start of play was delayed by three hours because of a rain-soaked course that saw a lot of players struggle early. McIlroy also had a double bogey on the first hole, before recovering with five birdies the rest of the way. And the double major winner hasnt given up hope of catching Bjorn. "Ive had big leads and let them slip, and come from behind and won, so theres a lot of ways to win," McIlroy said. "There is still 18 holes of golf to go, but Im going to need something very special." ' ' '