TORONTO (AP) ― Yu Darvish acknowledged it felt strange to face the Blue Jays. That didn’t stop him from shutting down their lineup.

Darvish won his third straight start, Mitch Moreland and Craig Gentry homered and the Texas Rangers beat Toronto 4-1 on Monday night.

Pitching against a Blue Jays team that reportedly pursued him when his rights went up for auction last December made Darvish (4-0) a little uneasy as he took the mound.

“Honestly, it was kind of an awkward feeling because rumor has it that this was a team that might have posted for me and there was some chance that I might have played for this team,” Darvish said through a translator. “Facing the Blue Jays, they could have been my teammates.”

Toronto might have wished that themselves on this night, scratching out just one run and four hits in seven innings against the Japanese sensation, the first starting pitcher in Rangers history to win four of his first five games.

Blue Jays manager John Farrell said Darvish was “outstanding” and “as good as advertised,” while Rangers skipper Ron Washington called him “electric.”

Braun clubs 3 homers

SAN DIEGO (AP) ― With an impressive display of power, Ryan Braun made Petco Park look downright cozy.

Braun had his first three-homer game and added a two-run triple to tie his career high with six RBIs, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to an 8-3 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night. The reigning NL MVP became the first player to hit three home runs in a game at spacious Petco Park since it opened in 2004. It came several days after the Padres said they are studying bringing in the fences at the downtown ballpark to make it more fair.

Arizona 9, Miami 5

NY Yankees 2, Baltimore 1

Philadelphia 6, Chicago Cubs 4

Boston 11, Oakland 6

Pittsburgh 9, Atlanta 3

Tampa Bay 3, Seattle 2

Houston 4, NY Mets 3

Colorado 6, LA Dodgers 2

LA Angels 4, Minnesota 3

Kansas City at Detroit ppd.