Bo Bichette hit two home runs and right-hander Alek Manoah went eight innings as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Cincinnati Reds 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Bichette’s second home run of the game was a two-run blast against Luis Cessa (2-1) in the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie.
Manoah (5-1) allowed one run and seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
Manoah could be seen in the dugout pleading to pitch the ninth inning, but closer Jordan Romano was called on instead. Romano struck out the side to earn his 14th save and his second of the three-game series.
Cincinnati right-hander Hunter Greene allowed one run, four hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out six in his first start since pitching 7 1/3 innings last Sunday and combined to hold Pittsburgh without a hit, only to lose 1-0 to the Pirates.
Cincinnati scored its only run in the fourth inning on Joey Votto’s RBI double to score Tyler Naquin.
Bichette led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run to left field on a Greene slider. It was the first hit of the game against Greene, who then pitched around two singles in the fifth inning.
Toronto threatened again in the sixth, loading the bases with two outs before Matt Chapman struck out to end the threat. Greene gave up one run on four hits over six innings with two walks and six strikeouts.
The Reds’ Tyler Stephenson led off the seventh with a double and moved to third on a groundout before Colin Moran struck out and Alejo Lopez grounded out.
Cessa replaced Greene in the bottom of the seventh. The Blue Jays’ Raimel Tapia singled with one out and took third when George Springer was thrown out trying to extend his hit into a double. Bichette followed with a two-run home run, his sixth of the season.
The Reds’ Jeff Hoffman, a first-round draft pick by the Blue Jays in 2014, pitched around a walk in the bottom of the eighth.
–Field Level Media
