José Berríos tied a career high with 13 strikeouts in six solid innings and the Toronto The Blue Jays snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had four hits and Teoscar Hernández drove in two runs as Toronto (46-42) earned his second victory in 11 games.
Berrios (7-4), who did not walk, allowed three earned runs and six hits in the opener of a six-game homestand. Relievers Tim Mayza and Yimi Garcia each pitched one inning before Jordan Romano closed it out for his 19th save.
It was a much-needed win for the Blue Jays after a miserable 1-6 run on the West Coast road. Toronto he started the day tied with Seattle for the third AL wild card spot and was just two games out of last place in Baltimore in the Eastern Division standings.
Jeurys Familia (1-1) took the loss for the Phillies (46-42), who have lost three in a row. It was Philadelphia’s first appearance at Rogers Center since 2018.
Philadelphia starter Andrew Bellatti allowed two runs in his only inning of work. Hernandez drove in George Springer and Bo Bichette with a two-out gapper, but was eliminated as he tried to extend it to a triple.
The Phillies cut their lead in half in the second inning by hitting three straight singles off Berríos. An infield hit by Odubel Herrera brought home Bryson Stott, but Berríos caught Garrett Stubbs on a fly ball to keep the game from one run.
Stott tied Philadelphia in the fourth inning with a solo home run. It was his fifth home run of the year.
Mark Appel kept the Blue Jays off the scoresheet until the bottom of the fourth when Gurriel and Matt Chapman hit back-to-back doubles to make it 3-2.
The Phillies tied it up again in the fifth when Nick Castellanos drove in Stubbs with a single that put them up. Springer made a diving catch early in the inning on a drive from Kyle Schwarber to help prevent a big frame.
Toronto he moved up to stay in the sixth inning when Gurriel’s ground rule double scored Alejandro Kirk and drove Hernandez to third. Chapman walked to load the bases, but reliever Corey Knebel got Santiago Espinal to appear and Danny Jansen in a comeback.
Toronto outscored Philadelphia 14-7. The advertised attendance was 32,795 and the game took two hours and 57 minutes to play.
BULLPEN SESSIONS
Toronto starters Kevin Gausman (ankle) and Yusei Kikuchi (neck) pitched bullpen sessions Tuesday while recovering from injuries.
Right-hander Ross Stripling (4-3, 3.34 ERA) will start for the two-game series finale on Wednesday. The Phillies will send right-hander Zack Wheeler (8-4, 2.46) to the mound.
Toronto receiver Danny Jansen (finger) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list before the game. Catcher Gabriel Moreno was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.
HISTORY OF THE SKIPPER
Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson became the first Canadian-born captain to officiate a Major League Baseball game in his home country.
The Sarnia, Ontario, native served as bench coach until he replaced the fired Joe Girardi on June 3.
FIRST LAUNCH
Canadian actor and “Shang-Chi” star Simu Liu threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
He was a presenter at the Juno Awards last May.