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Gose shows Jays he's primed for callup

Bisons outfielder goes yard, sets a career high with six RBIs in rout
August 29, 2014

With just three days until the Major League rosters expand, Anthony Gose is getting himself into fine position for his return.

The Toronto farmhand homered and drove in a career-high six runs as Triple-A Buffalo routed Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 11-3, on Thursday.

Gose, who singled and stole his 20th base of the season in the first inning, helped the Bisons put up some crooked numbers early. The outfielder slugged a three-run homer in the second and capped Buffalo's six-run third by clearing the bases with a double.

The 24-year-old, who drove in four runs for Double-A New Hampshire on May 14, 2011, finished 3-for-5 and fell a triple short of the cycle.

The California native returned to the International League on Aug. 16, when the Blue Jays activated All-Star Edwin Encarnacion from the disabled list. Since then, Gose has put up solid numbers, batting .302 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 10 games.

"It wasn't an easy decision," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told MLB.com. "Gose helps you win in different ways."

Tied for second on the team with 20 stolen bases, Gose has split the year between Toronto and Buffalo. He's batting .234 with 14 stolen bases in 69 Major League games while batting .249 with 29 runs scored in 48 games with the Bisons. His ability to play all three outfield positions and speed make him likely to return to the bigs when rosters expand on Sept. 1.

A.J. Jimenez slugged a two-run homer and Dalton Pompey scored three times and drove in two for the Bisons.

Kendall Graveman was the beneficiary of the early offensive support, allowing three runs on seven hits while fanning seven over 5 1/3 innings to improve to 3-2.

Chris Young, who was signed by the Yankees to a Minor League deal on Wednesday, was 1-for-4 with an RBI in his debut for the RailRiders.

Robert Emrich is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertEmrich.