TORONTO -- Frank Thomas wasn't aware that he had reached a milestone. That was until people started to congratulate him after Toronto's 4-2 loss to Washington on Sunday.
The baseball that Thomas sent crashing into the second deck in left field at Rogers Centre was the 496th blast of his career -- four homers shy of his much-anticipated inclusion in the 500 home run club. That much Thomas knew.

What he hadn't realized was that, with that third-inning blast, Thomas moved into first place on the all-time list for home runs by a designated hitter. The solo shot gave Thomas 244 career homers as a DH -- one more than Edgar Martinez, who held the record until Sunday.

"I just found that out a second ago," Thomas said. "To get that in a losing cause, I hate it. But I'll take it. I felt great today. I'm starting to feel comfortable up there, so hopefully I can continue that."

Thomas, who is in his 18th season, and first with Toronto, had plenty of praise for Martinez. The former Mariner spent 18 years in Seattle, from 1987-2004, and amassed 309 home runs (243 as a DH) along the way.

"I knew Edgar very well," Thomas said. "He was a great player and a great person. He was fun to be around. I'm proud to pass him, but what a great player he was."

The home run was the ninth of the season for Thomas, who has labored through a season-long slump as Toronto's cleanup hitter. By going 1-for-2 against the Nationals, Thomas raised his batting average to .231, which is well below the 39-year-old slugger's .303 career mark.

The solo homer off Washington left-hander Micah Bowie, who became the 321st victim of a blast by Thomas, was his first home run since May 31. Thomas swung at the first pitch he saw from Bowie and sent it deep into the seats in left-center field, knotting the score at 2 before the Nationals rallied for the win.

"He smoked that thing. He's going to hit plenty of those this year," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "That [record] is pretty impressive. It's a longevity thing. You look at his numbers over the years and he's been as consistent as anybody. It speaks for itself."

The loss took away from the accomplishment for Thomas, especially considering a win would've finally brought the Blue Jays (33-35) back to the break-even mark. Thomas is hoping his home run is a sign that he's starting to emerge from his offensive woes, which would provide a boost for Toronto's lineup.

"To have been around long enough to accomplish something like that, I'm proud of that," said Thomas, who is eight homers away from tying Eddie Murray for 20th on the all-time list. "My thoughts right now are on getting this team to .500. Then, maybe we can really start rolling."
Congrats to Frank...I haven't heard anything about him this year but I hope he can get to 500 soon.