Hunter Brown pitched six scoreless innings, Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez hit home runs, and the Houston Astros defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Monday afternoon. This victory marked the Astros’ 10th win in 11 games.
After a strong June with a 4-0 record and a 1.16 ERA in five starts, Brown (6-5) continued his solid performance into July. The right-hander allowed only two singles, walked three batters, and struck out five.
Peña praised Brown’s preparation and competitive spirit, stating, “He prepares really well and he goes out there and competes.” Playing in special red jerseys and caps for Canada Day, the Blue Jays lost for the second consecutive year on this holiday.
Rafael Montero pitched a perfect seventh inning for Houston, but the Blue Jays loaded the bases against Bryan Abreu in the eighth. Abreu managed to escape the jam by inducing a groundout from Daulton Varsho.
Astros manager Joe Espada commended Abreu’s ability to work through tough situations, saying, “You can have him against the ropes but he’s going to figure out a way to get people out.”
In the ninth inning, Josh Hader allowed a solo home run to Ernie Clement but secured his 13th save of the season out of 14 opportunities.
Clement’s home run was his fourth of the year. Despite opportunities, Toronto struggled with runners in scoring position, going 0 for 6 in such situations and leaving eight runners on base, including twice leaving the bases loaded.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider lamented their missed opportunities, saying, “We just needed a hit in certain spots.” Toronto threatened early in the second inning, loading the bases with one out, but Brown managed to escape the jam by getting Clement to pop up and striking out Kevin Kiermaier.
Reflecting on his performance, Brown acknowledged, “The first two innings I wasn’t executing at the clip I wanted to. I was able to bear down and make some pitches early in an at-bat that kind of forced them to swing at some stuff.”
In their matchups against the Astros this season, the Blue Jays have struggled to score, managing runs in only two of the 36 innings played. Their lone win against Houston came on April 2 with a 2-1 victory where Davis Schneider hit a two-run home run off Josh Hader in the ninth inning.
