Houston – Matt Chapman doubled to host Vladimir Guerrero Jr. by two outs in the ninth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 4-3 on Friday night for their third straight win.
Chapman’s tiebreak in the gap in the left center of the field against the relevator Hector Neris (1-1) scored Guerrero from first base. Houston lost its third in a row.
Astros put the runners in the corners with one out at the bottom of the ninth in a single by Juli Guriel and Aledmis Diaz by Jordan Romano.
After Jason Castro outscored, JJ Mathievich was sent to the plate for his debut in the major leagues, hitting Martin Maldonado. The meeting of the left against the right did not work out for Astros, when Romano inflated Matievich for his eighth save.
Tim Maiza (1-0) made eighth without a result.
Justin Verlander made his first start against the Blue Jays after not hitting them on September 1, 2019 in Toronto. On Friday night, he kept Toronto without a hit, while Raimel Tapia scored in the fourth inning.
Verlander made six innings and allowed three runs in four hits. He hit five and passed one.
The Astros took a 3-0 lead in the third with a doubling of Maldonado, followed by a walk to Jeremy Pena and a single by Michael Brantley, Alex Bragman and Garyel.
The Blue Jays tied at 3 in the heel back to back for the Homers of Santiago Espinal and Bradley Zimmer. The solo shots – both in the left field – appeared on consecutive pitches and marked the first Homers of the year for both Espinal and Zimmer.
Toronto scored its first run in the fourth after Tapia led the inning with a single goal and later scored on the ground.
Blue Jace starter Ross Stripling conceded five goals in four innings, conceding three runs and destroying two.
COACH ROOM
Blue Jays: OF George Springer was out of the squad after being hit in the right wrist on Thursday. Springer said before the game that he hopes to play on Saturday night. This is his first trip back to Houston, where he spent seven seasons before signing with Toronto in 2021.
NEXT
Blue Jays: Alec Manoah (2-0, 1.50) starts for Toronto on Saturday. He participated in the sixth inning in seven consecutive starts, giving up two or fewer series in the last six.
Astros: Jose Urquidi (1-1, 7.00) conceded six runs and eight strokes in four innings in a loss on April 17 to Seattle.
Add Comment