Ejections aplenty for Blue Jays lately

There's rarely a dull moment for the Toronto Blue Jays these days.

Amid an extended stretch of dust-ups, ejections and disciplinary news, Toronto beat Minnesota 3-1 on Sunday. Once again, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons wasn't around for the finish, having been ejected in the fifth inning.

Gibbons was also ejected the previous Sunday and Monday, and he served a three-game suspension from Tuesday through Thursday.

This wild stretch began when the Blue Jays and Texas Rangers were involved in a brawl May 15. There were eight ejections in that game - Gibbons was actually tossed for arguing balls and strikes, then came back to the field for the brawl later in the game.

On Monday, Gibbons was ejected for arguing a called third strike in a game against Tampa Bay. Then Tuesday, a bunch of suspensions were handed down stemming from the Blue Jays-Rangers fight, and Gibbons began serving his three-game ban for that.

When he returned Friday, Toronto was facing Minnesota, but that series didn't end without incident either. On Saturday, Blue Jays slugger Josh Donaldson was thrown out of the game in the top of the first inning - he was jawing with the Minnesota dugout as he passed home plate on his way back to his dugout. In the fifth inning Sunday, Phil Hughes of the Twins threw a pitch inside to Donaldson and another behind him. Donaldson wasn't happy about it, and when Gibbons came out to argue, the manager was ejected once again.

Donaldson had already gotten a measure of payback in Sunday's game with a first-inning homer.

"I definitely had a little bit more motivation to go out there and play. I try to go out there and play hard every day," Donaldson said. "Fact is, I wasn't too happy with how things transpired (Saturday)."

The Blue Jays took three of four from Minnesota, rebounding nicely from a five-game losing streak. But Toronto, the defending AL East champion, is in last place right now heading into a stretch of divisional games. Starting on Tuesday night, the Blue Jays play a dozen games against either the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.

The Blue Jays are six games behind first-place Baltimore.

Here are a few other developments from around baseball:

CLIMBING BACK

After a rough start to the season, the Yankees have won five in a row and 13 of their last 19. This is their longest winning streak since a seven-game run last June.

Carlos Beltran remains a threat with the bat at age 39. He's now hitting .274 and leads the team in both home runs (nine) and RBIs (27).

FANTASY FOCUS

Tim Lincecum signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. Even if he's healthy again after hip surgery, the last time Lincecum looked like an ace was back in 2011. He's had an ERA of at least 4.00 every season since.

Lincecum is worth a look only in deeper leagues - and even there, he'd have to be stashed for a little while before he pitches in the majors. General manager Billy Eppler said Lincecum would need 20 to 30 days to get ready.

LINE OF THE WEEK

Any time a player hits three home runs, it's a game to remember. Khris Davis went a step further. His third homer Tuesday was a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to lift Oakland over Texas 8-5.

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Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister