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It was not Alek Manoah at his best, but backed by some solid and timely defense, it was enough for another shutout of the Kansas City Royals.
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The Royals, without a run in the first two games of this series, threatened in the second, fifth and sixth innings, but each time came away empty in an eventual 7-0 Blue Jays win on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium.
In the second inning, a leaping Bo Bichette stole a run-scoring single from Emmanuel Rivera from the edge of the outfield grass. Bichette went vertical to snare a ball headed for the outfield, and then doubled off an out-of-luck Carlos Santana at second base. Santana was two steps from third base by the time Bichette came down with the ball, and had no chance to get back.
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There were also stellar plays made at first base by Vladimir Guerrero Jr in the third and fifth innings, as well as a nice diving catch from Bradley Zimmer in the seventh, all of them contributing to keep the Royals off the scoreboard for a second night in to row.
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Manoah wound up going six innings, allowing six hits and three walks but without giving up a run. He improved to 7-1 and lowered his team-leading ERA to 1.81.
Yimi Garcia, David Phelps and Jordan Romano, who was getting antsy with the lack of work, finished things off for the Jays.
Toronto got all the offense it would need in the second inning when a Matt Chapman double scored both Alejandro Kirk and Santiago Espinal with the game’s first two runs.
Kirk, who is going to see a heavier workload with Danny Jansen going on the injured list with a broken bone in his left hand, had a solid 4-for-5 evening. His four crisp singles from him boosted the bottom of the order, which accounted for the first five Toronto runs.
The Jays will go for a sweep on Wednesday with a 2:10 pm ET first pitch. Blue Jays starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi goes for his third win of the year, while Brady Singer is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Royals.