TORONTO — Two weeks ago, Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers hinted at what could happen during an on-field interview immediately following a July 8 win against the American League Central-leading Cleveland Guardians.

"Don't let the Tigers get hot," Rogers said. "That's all I gotta say."

The Tigers lost right-hander Reese Olson to a shoulder injury but continued their winning ways Saturday with a 7-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the second of three games in the series at Rogers Centre, sparked by a grand slam from Rogers as part of a six-run sixth inning.

The Tigers (49-50) are 10-2 since July 5, including four wins in a row and six wins in their past seven games.

"We all gotta chip in," Rogers said. "We're a gritty, young team. Little things matter, like playing good defense and getting runners in when we need to. I just wanted to get one or two in there, and obviously, I got in four. The more runs we score, the better we are. We're having fun right now and need to keep it up."

The Tigers — thanks to four straight series victories — are one game under .500 for the first time since June 7, but they still have a lot of work to do in the standings. The latest win over the Blue Jays left them 11½ games back of first place in the AL Central and 5½ games back of the final AL wild-card spot.

The loss of Olson didn't deter the Tigers from winning another game.

"I don't think a lot of people knew what was going on," manager A.J. Hinch said. "And then, we've got a really good group who will respond to anything and get going. ... I think our team obviously feels for Reese, but at the same time, continues to play."

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The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning with an RBI double from Andy Ibáñez, but the real damage occurred in the sixth inning against three different pitchers, who toiled for a combined 48 pitches.

The first three batters of the inning reached safely to chase left-hander Yusei Kikuchi — expected to be moved at the July 30 trade deadline — from his 21st start of the season.

"We had a hard time building any innings against him," Hinch said. "He was really good. Fastball is good. He threw a few more breaking balls. Changeup is always good. He's just got a lot of things coming at you, and he's very efficient. He was on attack mode."

To chase Kikuchi, Matt Vierling hit a single, Mark Canha walked and Wenceel Pérez took a hit-by-pitch. The Blue Jays then turned to right-handed reliever Trevor Richards.

Rogers greeted Richards by hammering a two-strike, up-and-in fastball for a grand slam to left field.

The slam from Rogers put the Tigers ahead, 5-0.

"I saw Trev warming up before," Rogers said. "I went up to (hitting coach Michael) Brdar, and I figured he was going to come in for me, so we went through the game plan, being on time for the heater, and he's a big changeup guy, especially with runners in scoring position. I went through the game plan with Brdar there, and it ended up being good."

The Tigers kept their foot on the gas against the Blue Jays. Three of the next four hitters collected singles: Javier Báez, Gio Urshela and Ibáñez. The one-out single from Ibáñez scored Báez from second base for a 6-0 advantage.

A new pitcher — left-handed reliever Brendon Little — threw a two-out wild pitch with the bases loaded, allowing Ibáñez to score easily to make it 7-0.

"Luckily, we separated ourselves," Hinch said. "Fortunately, we did because they're always one swing away from getting back in it."

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With Olson's injury, the Tigers had to piece together the pitching efforts for the final seven innings. Right-handed reliever Alex Faedo completed two scoreless innings, logging three strikeouts, to take the Tigers into the fifth inning.

"He's the fastest to get ready," Hinch said of Faedo, "and he's fresh, and he's a good fit for that pocket where he can get both righties and lefties. Where we were at, it was a quick decision, but Alex is always available, and he's always quick to get up and get in the game."

After Faedo's stint, right-hander Kenta Maeda jogged out of the bullpen for his second relief appearance since his removal from the starting rotation for performance reasons.

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Maeda dominated in his first game as a reliever, but he wasn't as successful in the second outing. The 36-year-old threw more than 75% strikes, but he allowed three runs on three hits and zero walks with one strikeout in two innings.

The Blue Jays scored all three runs in the sixth inning.

George Springer hit an RBI single off Maeda's fastball at the bottom of the strike zone, then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run home run off Maeda's splitter that caught too much of the heart of the plate.

"I thought he was really good in his first inning," Hinch said of Maeda. "A long layoff, which no pitcher will complain about, when we scored the six runs, and then he goes out and you could tell he wasn't completely loose or his back wasn't completely stretched out."

Left-handed reliever Tyler Holton covered the seventh and eighth innings, while right-handed reliever Shelby Miller — protecting a four-run margin — completed the ninth inning.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jake Rogers slams Detroit Tigers to within a game of .500 with 7-3 win