Fourth inning gives Toronto control
After Kirk’s homer put Toronto in front, the Blue Jays pushed across the decisive runs in the top of the fourth inning Tuesday and beat the Houston Astros 3-1 at Daikin Park in Houston.
Toronto, the away team, opened the scoring in the top of the second when Kirk homered to left center, a 373-foot shot that accounted for the only home run of the game. The Blue Jays then added two runs in the fourth against Cristian Javier to build a 3-0 lead.
The first fourth-inning run came when Sánchez singled to left. Okamoto scored on the play after a throwing error by left fielder Trammell, with Sánchez safe at second and Springer safe at third on the error. Clement followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Springer for Toronto’s third run.
Houston answers once
Houston scored its only run in the bottom of the sixth. Peña singled to center, bringing in Diaz, with Peña moving to second and Smith to third on the play. That cut Toronto’s lead to 3-1, which remained the final score.
The Astros finished with one run in the game, while the Blue Jays finished with three. The announced attendance was 22,789.
Bieber gets the win
Shane Bieber earned the win for Toronto, moving to 3-2. He pitched 5.2 innings and allowed nine hits, one earned run and two walks while striking out six.
