TORONTO -- Marco Estrada survived a shaky first inning, and then allowed his teammates to do their thing Thursday night.

Estrada struck out eight over six innings, Justin Smoak had four RBIs, Steve Pearce hit a three-run homer, and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Seattle Mariners 7-2.

"I thought it was a battle for him early on," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Estrada. "He found that groove a little bit as the game went on. He always seems to get better at the end when he knows he's got an inning or two left."

Smoak had a walk and three hits -- a solo home run, a two-run single, an RBI single -- as the Blue Jays (14-21) won two games in a row for only the third time this season.

Nelson Cruz hit a two-run homer in the first inning for the Mariners (17-18), who had a four-game winning streak stopped.

"If I make my pitches, that first inning doesn't happen," Estrada said. "When you throw a pitch down the middle to Cruz, he's going to hit it."

Estrada (2-2) allowed four hits, three walks and two runs.

He could not explain his first-inning problem.

"Sometimes it happens, and today was one of those days," he said.

Smoak said it was no surprise that Estrada turned it around.

"I think we expect it, he's done enough the last couple of years," the first baseman said. "He knows how to pitch and he's going to keep us in the game, and we just need to grind out at-bats as we did tonight and Pearce came up with that big homer."

Seattle starter Chase De Jong (0-3), a former Blue Jays minor-leaguer, gave up six runs (five in the fifth inning), seven hits and three walks in five innings.

"He just didn't finish off the inning, and then they got something going against him," Mariners manager Scott Servais said.

Zac Curtis replaced De Jong in the sixth inning and pitched around a hit batsman. Sam Gaviglio allowed Smoak's sixth homer of the season in the seventh.

After Aaron Loup replaced Estrada and pitched around a seventh-inning walk, Jason Grilli survived a double by Cruz and a single by Danny Valencia in the eighth.

Leonel Campos, just called up from Triple-A, pitched a perfect ninth.

Jean Segura led off the game with a double and Cruz hit his eighth homer of the season with one out to give Seattle a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Jays scored one run in the first. Kevin Pillar led off with a single, took third on a single to left by Ezequiel Carrera and scored on a one-out single by Smoak.

"I think (Smoak) is a little more aggressive early in the count, and he's laying off that (tough) breaking ball," Gibbons said. "He's jumping on pitches early in the at-bats. I know he hit a breaking ball tonight, but don't let them get to the off-speed stuff. He got a steady diet of it last season so he knows he's going to get it. He's made a big adjustment."

The Blue Jays took a 6-2 lead with a five-run fifth inning.

De Jong retired the first two batters of the inning before loading the bases on a walk to Pillar, a single by Carrera and a walk to Jose Bautista.

"It just kind of came off the rails there after the walk (to Pillar)," Servais said.

Smoak stroked a two-run single to center, and Pearce followed with his fourth home run of the season, a three-run shot to left.

"I didn't have my best command tonight," De Jong said. "I really wasn't as crisp as I'd like to have been. ... It kind of got away from us pretty quickly there. The walks hurt."

NOTES: Toronto LHP Francisco Liriano (left shoulder inflammation) went on the 10-day disabled list Thursday after allowing seven runs in two-plus innings Wednesday against the Cleveland Indians. RHP Leonel Campos was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo, where he was 1-0 with two saves and a 2.31 ERA. ... Seattle 2B Robinson Cano (strained right quadriceps) was scratched from the lineup due to a quadriceps injury. Mike Freeman started at second base and went 0-for-4. ... Toronto RHP Joe Biagini (0-1, 2.78 ERA) opposes Seattle RHP Christian Bergman (0-0, 2.45 ERA) on Friday in the second contest of the four-game series.