Kirk has 4 hits and homers for the third straight game as the Blue Jays beat the Brewers | CBC Sports

Alejandro Kirk didn’t even need to play a full game to continue cementing his status as one of the best hitting catchers in baseball.

Kirk went 4-for-4 and homered for the third straight game before leaving with a bruised left hand in the seventh inning of the Toronto Blue Jays’ 9-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.

He appeared to take a hit to the hand on a Jonathan Davis backswing in the seventh. The 23-year-old Kirk stayed in the game for the remainder of that at-bat before leaving at the same time the Blue Jays made a pitching change. He underwent precautionary x-rays which came back negative.

Kirk’s big night represented the last chapter of his great season. He is hitting .321 with nine home runs, 28 RBIs, a .406 on-base percentage and a .913 OPS.

“How do you throw him?” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “He can hit the ball inside. He doesn’t chase bad pitches. He’s always ahead of the count and can go the other way. He’s doing what it takes to be one of the best hitters in baseball.”

Kirk led an all-around quality performance from the Blue Jays.

Alek Manoah (9-2) pitched 6 2/3 innings, Cavan Biggio homered and Matt Chapman delivered a bases-loaded double as Toronto won the first meeting between the teams since 2017.

Milwaukee’s Tyrone Taylor homered for the second straight game and Christian Yelich drove in two runs.

Manoah struck out six and allowed five hits, three walks and two runs to rally after allowing a season-high four runs in a 4-0 loss to the New York Yankees on Saturday. He threw a season-high 106 pitches.

“I feel great,” Manoah said. “I probably could have lasted a little bit longer if I hadn’t walked some of those guys, but we’ll continue to improve and work on the next one.”

Manoah has pitched so well this season that Friday’s performance pushed his ERA up to 2.05. The Blue Jays are 26-8 in Manoah’s 34 career starts.

Toronto took an early 5-0 lead by leading off the second inning with six straight hits against Adrian Houser (4-8). Chapman hit three runs with a double that cleared the bases down the left field line and scored when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. doubled to right field.

“He missed some balls in the middle of the plate and they hit them hard,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added an RBI double off Peter Strzelecki in the ninth. The Brewers scored twice in the bottom half.

Friday marked the first time Montoyo set foot in Milwaukee’s ballpark, even though the Brewers drafted him twice: in the 26th round in 1986 and the sixth round in 1987.

Montoyo made it all the way to the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate before being traded to the Montreal Expos in 1993.

Toronto hitting coach gets 5-game suspension

Blue Jays hitting coach Guillermo Martinez was suspended five games and fined an undisclosed amount after his heated argument with umpire Doug Eddings before a game Wednesday.

The altercation occurred during the exchange of lineup cards before Toronto’s game in Chicago against the White Sox to close out a three-game series.

Martinez pulled out the lineup card, a task usually performed by manager Charlie Montoyo, and shook hands with the umpires before getting into a spirited discussion with Eddings. Martinez was ejected from the game.

MLB said in a statement Friday that Martinez was being disciplined for unsportsmanlike conduct and contact with Eddings.

Eddings, who was assigned to third base for Wednesday’s game, was behind the plate in Toronto’s 7-6 loss to Chicago on Tuesday.

The suspension began when Toronto opened a three-game series with the Brewers on Friday night at Milwaukee.

Blue Jays pitcher Yimi Garcia went on the 15-day disabled list with a left back strain. Jeremy Beasley was called up from Triple-A Buffalo. Outfielder George Springer was out of the lineup for the second straight game with an elbow problem. Nate Pearson, who has yet to pitch for Toronto this season, is dealing with a wing strain.

Yusei Kikuchi (2-3, 4.94 ERA) starts for the Blue Jays and Corbin Burnes (5-4, 2.31) pitches for the Brewers as the three-game series continues Saturday afternoon.