Espinal homer in Houston propells Blue Jays to fourth consecutive win


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HOUSTON — Alek Manoah has the physical dimensions to be the beast that he is as perhaps the Blue Jays’ most intimidating starter.

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Santiago Espinal, meanwhile, is sneaky strong, with a compact, powerful swing that can inflict its own damage.

Together those two helped the Jays grind out a 3-2 win over the Astros on Saturday afternoon at Minute Maid Park.

Espinal’s line drive home-run blast over the wall in left in the seventh inning proved to be the winning run as the Jays improved their American League leading record to 10-5.

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But how about Manoah, who got in an early hole and then just used his big right arm to will the team to its fourth consecutive win, their longest streak of the season.

It also guaranteed another series victory as the Jays have taken the first two of the three-game set against the reigning AL champion Astros.

Manoah allowed two runs in the first and scattered seven hits throughout his outing but didn’t allow a base on balls while striking out five in his 95-pitch afternoon.

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The gritty right hander improved his record to 3-0 and the team’s remarkable run when he’s working from the hill. The Jays are now 19-4 in Manoah’s 23 career starts and have won each of the last 11 dating back to last season.

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Facing the Astros for the first time in his career, Manoah gave up a two-run homer to Alex Bregman in the first but didn’t allow another run the rest of the way.

Still, to keep that winning run going Manoah needed some run support and he got it from the emerging power threat that is Espinal. His 364-foot shot from him in the seventh was a no doubter and of course it was Manoah waiting at the dugout steps to slip the home run jacket over the second baseman’s shoulders.

SPRINGER FORWARD

Two hours before his official playing return to the stadium where he became a superstar, George Springer was doing everything short of kissing babies and donning an Astros uniform.

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He was signing autographs and posing for selfies behind home plate and yukking it up with former teammates who worked together for a 2017 World Series title.

But when it came time for his first at-bat as a visitor to Minute Maid Park, Springer took the fifth pitch he faced deep over the wall in right center for a solo homer.

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game on

After falling into a 2-1 hole in the bottom half of the first, neither team scored until the Jays tied it up in the top of the sixth … It was yet another afternoon of bullpen brilliance for the Jays. Lefty Ryan Borucki continued the bullpen brilliance making his debut with two out and a runner on first in the seventh inning and induced a groundout from Michael Brantley, who had singled in each of his three previous at-bats. All Borucki did was throw back-to-back 97 mile per hour fastballs to end that mild Astros threat … The Jays bullpen was money yet again with the combination of Borucki, David Phelps (who pitched the seventh), Yimi Garcia (eighth) and Adam Cimber with the ninth-inning save … Cimber allowed a single to the Astros’ Kyle Tucker to lead off the ninth and then a super snag of a line drive by Vlad Guerrero Jr. at first provided a double play to end it.

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