TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays have come close to falling out of first place in the American League East thanks to a recent slide. An excellent start from Drew Hutchison and the return of Jose Bautista helped provide a little breathing room in the divisional race while ending a three-game losing skid at the same time. Hutchison struck out a season-high 10 batters and Bautista belted one of two Toronto homers as the Blue Jays defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1 in front of a sellout crowd on Canada Day at Rogers Centre. The Toronto right-hander was dominant early on, retiring the first 14 batters he faced. Three relievers combined on the four-hitter as the Blue Jays moved 1 1/2 games ahead of second-place Baltimore. "When hes on, hes on," Toronto manager John Gibbons said of his starter. "He can be really, really good." The Orioles were scheduled to play the Texas Rangers later Tuesday. Bautista, meanwhile, gave his team an early lead with a no-doubt blast off Marco Estrada (7-5) that hit the facing of the second deck. It was the first start for the Toronto slugger since he strained his left hamstring on June 22. Colby Rasmus hit a solo shot in the fifth inning for the Blue Jays (46-39), who added some late insurance with a two-run eighth inning. Hutchison improved to 6-6 with his sixth quality start of the season. "A dynamite fastball and a good breaking ball," Gibbons said. "He got lots of strikeouts. Theyre a very aggressive hitting team over there so he got a lot of strikeouts up in the zone. But his fastball had a little extra life." The Toronto skipper showed his faith in Hutchison by leaving him out there after loading the bases in the seventh. He got out of the jam when Jean Segura lined out to right field. "I want to be in there in those situations," Hutchison said. "I believe in myself to make a pitch to get out of that so to have that (confidence) from (Gibbons), it was nice to be able to have that and then get out of it." Aaron Loup, Dustin McGowan and Casey Janssen completed the four-hitter. Janssen worked the ninth inning for his 13th save. "We didnt get a lot of hits," said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke. "A lot of strikeouts, not a lot of hits." Bautista was the designated hitter and he returned to his No. 3 position in the lineup for his first start in nine days. He got the crowd of 45,088 into the game early by turning on a 3-2 pitch for his 16th homer of the year. "Hes a pretty good hitter," Gibbons said. "Were not quite the (same) team without him, thats for sure." Hutchison already had eight strikeouts before Khris Davis reached on an infield single in the fifth to become Baltimores first baserunner. Davis hit a ground ball up the middle that Jose Reyes did well to retrieve. The shortstop was forced to make a hurried off-balance throw that pulled Edwin Encarnacion off the bag at first base. Rasmus made it a two-run game in the bottom of the frame. He turned on an 0-1 pitch for his 12th homer of the year. Milwaukee (51-34) halved the lead in the sixth inning. Leadoff man Scooter Gennett reached on a flare to left field and Ryan Braun drove him in with a double into the right-field corner. Estrada was pulled for southpaw sidearmer Zach Duke after giving up a walk to Encarnacion and a single to Dioner Navarro in the bottom of the seventh. Duke retired the next three Blue Jays in order to keep it a one-run game. Loup hit the lone batter he faced, putting pinch-hitter Rickie Weeks on to open the eighth. McGowan came on and got Braun to hit into a 4-6-3 double play. McGowan walked Jonathan Lucroy and then fanned Carlos Gomez with a 96 mile-per-hour heater. In the eighth, Melky Cabrera drove in a run with a triple and scored on an Encarnacion double. "We played (well) today on an important day for us to win a game -- it seems like its been a while," Gibbons said. "Its Canada Day in front of a nice crowd. You dont want to lay an egg on that day. So it was a good day for us." Hutchison allowed three hits, one earned run and walked a pair. He threw 66 of his 105 pitches for strikes. "He was our win," said Rasmus. "Everything revolves around the starting pitcher. He came in and did a good job, kept them off balance, kept the ball up in the zone and kept them swinging and missing. He did a great job." Estrada gave up six hits, two earned runs and a walk while striking out two. Notes: The game took two hours 56 minutes to play. ... Blue Jays wore their red and white jerseys for Canada Day. ... It was Torontos sixth sellout of the season. ... IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ont., threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... Hockey commentator Don Cherry received a nice ovation from the crowd when he was shown on the video scoreboard in the fourth inning. ... Elian Herrera replaced Davis in left field in the seventh inning. ... The teams will close out the mini-series with another matinee on Wednesday. Left-hander J.A. Happ (7-4, 4.29) is scheduled to start against Milwaukee right-hander Wily Peralta (9-5, 3.20). ... The Blue Jays will kick off a 10-game road trip with the opener of a four-game series against Oakland on Thursday. ... Toronto leads the major leagues with 110 home runs. ... The Blue Jays are now 13-23 in Canada Day games. Vapormax Flyknit Clearance . -- Chicago manager Darold Butler has a message for the Windy City. Vapormax Clearance . So they rushed to re-sign the first baseman who general manager Ben Cherington described Friday as "a unique player." 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Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Buddy Robinson scored 43 seconds apart in the second period to lead the Binghamton Senators to a 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs in American Hockey League action Friday night at the Bell Centre.Minnesota Vikings protect their undefeated record against a J.J Watt-less Houston Texans, while Super Bowl champions Denver Broncos host Atlanta Falcons live on Sky Sports 2 and surprise package Philadelphia Eagles return from their bye week at Detroit Lions. Odell Beckham Jr and his New York Giants (2-2) are at the Green Bay Packers (2-1) in the late game, live on Sky Sports 2 from 1am.The spotlight is also on the Cleveland Browns in Week five as Tom Brady returns to a 3-1 New England Patriots positioned to make a run at his seventh Super Bowl appearance. The superstar quarterback missed the opening four games of the season after ultimately losing his legal battle against suspension for the 2015 Deflategate saga. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. The timing of the 39-year-old Bradys return therefore could not have been better as the Patriots travel to Cleveland (0-4), the only team in the league yet to win a game.It is a lot of fun to be back, Brady said this week after training with his team-mates for the first time this season on Monday. I havent had the chance to be out there for four weeks. Ive been watching my teammates go out and try to play at their very best, and they performed very well. Im excited to go out there and join them. The Vikings move to a 4-0 record after beating the Giants 24-10 on a frustrating night for Odell Beckham Jr Minnesota face the Texans after their Monday night win over the Giants, live on Sky Sports 2 from 6pm. Not since 1988 have the Vikings allowed fewer points (50) through four games than this season. They also lead the NFL with a plus-10 turnover margin; their only giveaway was a lost fumble by safety Andrew Sendejo during his own fumble return. 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Highlights of the Broncos clash with the Buccaneers Atlanta are averaging 354.dddddddddddd2 passing yards per game and with 152 points is leading the league with an average 38 points per game.The Broncos defence, meanwhile, has only given up an average of 169.5 passing yards per game each season, with cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. only conceding six passes of 20-plus yards. Highlights of the Panthers clash with the Falcons in week four Philadelphia return from a bye week looking to defend their unbeaten start for what should be a straightforward assignment against the Lions, with rookie quarterback Carson Wentz boosted by the return of tight end Zarch Ertz, one of his top receiving weapons. Laura Woods sits down with Sky Sports NFL expert Neil Reynolds as they discuss the Falcons win over the Panthers The Giants head to Lambeau Field with their assistant coach Ben McAdoo, a former Packers assistant coach from 2006-13, now in their ranks. 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