Hunter Brown shut out the Blue Jays for six innings and the Houston Astros cruised to a 3-1 victory in Toronto on Monday.
Brown allowed just two singles, striking out five. He walked three. He (6-5) was outstanding in June, going 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA.
“It couldn’t happen to a better guy,” said Jeremy Pena, who provided one of the game-winning home runs. “He’s been preparing really well for his starts.”
Pena and Yordan Alavarez homered for the Astros, who have won their last three games. They have lost just once in 11 games.
It was the second year in a row the Blue Jays lost on Canada Day.
Toronto had the bases loaded against Bryan Abreu in the eighth, but he got away when Daulton Varsho grounded out.
“You can have Bryan on the ropes, but he’s going to find a way to get out of it,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “His repertoire is really explosive.”
Josh Hader allowed a homer to Ernie Clement, sealing his 13th save in 14 chances. The Blue Jays were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.
“We just ran out of hits,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.
Vladimir Guerrero was sidelined with soreness in his right hand after being hit in the knuckles by a 96-mile-per-hour fastball from New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole on Sunday.
Yariel Rodriguez retired the first 14 batters before Pena hit his sixth home run of the season in the fifth. Rodriguez (0-3) went 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and two hits.
Alvarez hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Zach Pop for his 17th homer of the season.
Wood makes good first impression with Nats
In his first MLB game and first at-bat in the second inning, Washington Nationals’ James Wood got his first career hit. Wood made his mark again in the ninth inning, going to second on a wild throw from pitcher Jake Diekman to first base. He failed to reach the plate, however. He also drew a walk.
Despite their good first impression, the New York Mets won 9-7, thanks in particular to a three-run homer from JD Martinez and a two-run homer from Jose Iglesias, both in the 10th inning.
New York therefore signs a fifth victory in its last seven games. The Nats suffer a sixth defeat during the same period.
In the loss, first baseman Joey Meneses drove in two runs and hit two in five at-bats.
