SEATTLE -- After weeks of mostly poor performances, Marco Estrada once again flirted with a no-hitter for Toronto.And just when the Blue Jays needed that quality of a performance.Estrada took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Edwin Encarnacion hit his 41st home run and the Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Monday night in the opener of a critical three-game series.Estrada (9-9) had allowed only two walks before Robinson Cano led off the seventh with a line drive up the middle on a 2-1 pitch. Cano and Nelson Cruz walked in the fourth -- an inning that ended on Kevin Pillars sliding catch to save a run -- but Estrada otherwise kept the Mariners off the bases before Canos single.Estradas outing was exactly what the slumping Blue Jays needed. They arrived in Seattle having dropped two straight and four of six, and their wild-card lead dwindled in the process. Estrada was partly to blame for the September swoon. In his previous six starts, he was 1-4 with a 7.53 ERA. In September alone, Estrada had allowed 12 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings.But he was brilliant against the Mariners, keeping the thousands of Blue Jays fans that made the trip south from British Columbia cheering all night as Toronto pulled even with Baltimore for the first wild-card spot. Both teams are 2 1/2 games clear of Detroit and three ahead of Seattle and Houston.Im not really sure whats been going on, as the game gets going I start to struggle a little bit, Estrada said. We looked at video and there have been little things here and there that we caught. We changed it up and felt pretty good today.Estrada was pulled after walking Leonys Martin leading off the eighth inning, leaving to a standing ovation from the huge Blue Jays contingent. He struck out eight and walked three before being replaced by Jason Grilli.The final six outs were trying for the Blue Jays. Pinch-hitter Ben Gamel walked to put two runners on with no outs in the eighth, and Seth Smith walked on a nine-pitch at-bat with two outs to load the bases for Cano.Closer Roberto Osuna entered and got Cano to line out to the warning track in right field where Ezequiel Carrera was playing. Martin hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth off Osuna, but Gamel struck out looking to cap Osunas 34th save.We know whats ahead of us, and we arent going to back away from it, Seattle manager Scott Servais said. I thought our guys gave a really good effort tonight, just wasnt enough.Encarnacions two-run homer off starter Taijuan Walker (6-11) came with two outs in the third on a 0-1 pitch that was left up in the strike zone. Pillar added a two-out RBI single in the fourth inning after Troy Tulowitzki led off with a double.NEAR MISSESEstrada has never completed a no-hitter, but hes been close. He lost a no-hit bid in the eighth inning against Boston on June 5, and also pitched hitless ball into the eighth inning in consecutive starts in June 2015.Its not something that I was focused on. Obviously if it would have happened it would have been incredible but it didnt. Cano hit a pretty good pitch, Estrada said.DONALDSON TOSSEDTorontos Josh Donaldson was ejected in the seventh inning arguing with plate umpire Chris Conroy after being called out on strikes. Donaldson was already upset about a check-swing Conroy called a strike earlier in the at-bat and flipped at being called out on a fastball on the outside corner. Donaldson immediately got in Conroys face and was quickly tossed.UP NEXTBlue Jays: LHP J.A. Happ (19-4) goes for his 20th win. Happ would join Bostons Rick Porcello as the only two pitchers in baseball with 20 wins this season. Happ has won 13 of his last 14 decisions.Mariners: RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (16-11) looks for his third straight victory. 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Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds.Perth Glory have scored their first win of the A-League season with a 2-0 win over the Wellington Phoenix at nib Stadium.The Phoenix were coming off an opening-round loss to Melbourne City and started strongly but Glory took control and turned their dominance into goals in the second half.Perth got on the board through a Diego Castro penalty and they shouldve doubled their advantage, but Andy Keogh delivered a powerless penalty effort in the 61st minute.It mattered little with Nebojsa Marinkovic scoring with a powerful shot five minutes later having come on for the injured Adam Taggart.It was a sloppy start from the home team but Glory soon settled and over the last half-hour of the first half had plenty of chances they could and should have scored from.Castro, Chris Harold, Marinkovic, Keogh and Rostyn Griffiths all had good looks on goal but none gave Phoenix goalkeeper Glen Moss any serious headaches.While Wellington was hanging in there well in the first half, it didnt last.Perths opening goal came when Adam Parkhouse tripped Harold in the box when he was awaiting a cross from Keogh and Castro had no trouble with the 48th-minute penalty.Keogh also got a clear penalty call in his favour just over 10 minutes later when taken down by Moss when left one-on-one in the box. The Irishman offered a poor penalty that meekly went straight to the keeper.A stunning run byy Josh Risdon in the 66th minute set up Marinkovic to strike a cracking goal to put Perth 2-0.ddddddddddddThe win comes after Perths 3-3 draw at home to Central Coast despite leading 3-0 and now they go on the road to face unbeaten Melbourne City on Friday.Wellington host the also undefeated Sydney FC on Sunday.Glory coach Kenny Lowe was happy with his teams response to last weeks disappointing draw.The first 15 I thought they had come out of the blocks and looked lively and bright, but I thought that was more us being a little bit tepid. Once we got the grips of the game it was OK, Lowe said.We played some good stuff at times and opened them up with some really good football. Both penalties were great football and the goal was an excellent goal as well.Wellington coach Ernie Merrick couldnt find too much to fault in his teams performance apart from the lack of finishing in front of goal.I thought we started off really well with some good passing moves. For the rest of the half, Perth was the strongest team and then we conceded a goal within three minutes of the second half, Merrick said.But in that front third we werent deadly at all really and the Perth defence did well. If we had got one maybe we could have made more of a game of it.Cheap JerseysChina NFL Jerseys [u of the second half, Merrick said.But in thaeball Jerseys[/url] ' ' '