Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion knocked three home runs Saturday. (USATSI)
Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion knocked three home runs, including a grand slam, Saturday. (USATSI)

No matter how great of a season the Toronto Blue Jays are having, hockey remains the national sport of Canada. But that doesn't mean the two can't peacefully coexist, and even mingle, when the occasion calls for it.

The occasion called for it at Rogers Centre on Saturday afternoon, when Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion hit his third home run of the day -- a grand slam, no less -- in the seventh inning, prompting many fans to throw their caps onto (or at least toward) the field to honor Encarnacion's second career home-run hat trick. E.E. led the way in a 15-1 obliteration of the Tigers.

There's nothing in the tradition of either sport that honors nine RBI, however. Not in baseball, and not in hockey, which doesn't have RBI. But nine RBI is how many Encarnacion had against the Tigers, the most in the majors since Lonnie Chisenhall of the Indians had nine against the Rangers in 2014. (And who among us didn't try to procure a fantasy baseball deal for Chisenhall after that breakout game? And who hasn't regretted it ever since?)

It's a longtime hockey tradition (in case you didn't know) to throw a hat, if you happen to be wearing one, when a player scores three goals in a hockey game. So, "When in Rome," huh? Or in this case, "When in Toronto, eh?" (The only thing: Isn't it also custom to bring a ratty cap you don't want anymore to an NHL arena in case of a hat trick? Nobody does that in baseball, and these caps today cost $30 or $40 for nice ones.)

Encarnacion hit a three-run homer in the first to extend his hitting streak to 24 games. He added a two-run homer in the sixth. He also reached on a fielding error and finished 3 for 5 with four runs scored. So he misses the home-run cycle by a solo shot. It was the second three-homer game of his career -- the other came in 2010 -- and he only knocked in three runs that day. And it happened at Chase Field, so nobody was throwing any hats. The major-league record for most home runs in a game is four, by 16 players (14 since 1900), most recently by Josh Hamilton in 2012. The record for most RBI is 12, by Mark Whiten and Jim Bottomley.

In case you wondered what happened to the caps that fans threw Saturday, the Jays rounded them up and gave them to Encarnacion:

The Blue Jays improved to 73-56 overall, including 23-6 since July 29.