Long balls and one fortuitous pop-up lift Jays past Astros

By: Mike Wilner - Baseball Columnist, Toronto Star Posted: 7:17 PM CDT Saturday, Apr. 23, 2022 Last Modified: 7:22 PM CDT Saturday, Apr. 23, 2022

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Three things you need to know about the Blue Jays’ 3-2 win over the Astros in Houston on Saturday:

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Three things you need to know about the Blue Jays’ 3-2 win over the Astros in Houston on Saturday:

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/04/2022 (1295 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Three things you need to know about the Blue Jays’ 3-2 win over the Astros in Houston on Saturday:

Sacrifice … pop-up?

Trailing 2-1 from the first inning, the Jays finally tied the game in the sixth when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a pop fly to very shallow centre with runners on the corners and nobody out. Both of Houston’s middle infielders went after it, and second baseman Niko Goodrum collided with shortstop Jeremy Pena as he caught it. Bo Bichette watched them tumble to the ground and jogged home with the tying run. Gurriel’s “sacrifice fly” was measured at 189 feet.

David J. Phillip - AP
When Astros infielders Niko Goodrum and Jeremy Pena collided on a shallow fly ball in the sixth inning Saturday, the Jays scored the tying run at Minute Maid Park. — David J. Phillip - AP When Astros infielders Niko Goodrum and Jeremy Pena collided on a shallow fly ball in the sixth inning Saturday, the Jays scored the tying run at Minute Maid Park.

Homers fly

Santiago Espinal had hit two home runs in his major-league career when he got to Houston and he has doubled that total in two games. Espinal’s first big fly of the season came off Justin Verlander Friday night, cutting the Jays’ deficit to 3-2 in an eventual 4-3 win. His second, on a two-strike slider from lefty Blake Taylor, broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning Saturday afternoon, providing the winning run.

George Springer started the game by going deep. The 45th leadoff home run of his career ranks first among active big-leaguers. It was his first career at-bat as a visitor at Minute Maid Park, the place he called home for seven years.

Game over

With closer Jordan Romano unavailable after pitching two straight days, Adam Cimber got the call to protect the Jays’ one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth. The side-armer, who notched a save in 2019 with Cleveland and another in Toronto last year (and that’s it), gave up a leadoff single. With one out, former Jay Aledmys Diaz scorched a screaming line drive that was headed for the right-field corner, a potential game-tying double. But Vladimir Guerrero Jr. snatched out of the air and stepped on first base for the game-ending double play.

Mike Wilner is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star and host of the baseball podcast “Deep Left Field.” Follow him on Twitter: @wilnerness