For the first time in 2024, the Toronto Blue Jays are on a winning streak.
After winning their Home Opener by a score of 5-2 over the Seattle Mariners, the Blue Jays made it two in a row with a 5-3 victory on Tuesday.
Chris Bassitt took the mound for Toronto following a pair of rough starts on the road in which he allowed eight earned runs over 9 1/3 innings in Tampa and Houston. The veteran right-hander turned in a quality start for the Blue Jays in his season debut at the Rogers Centre, allowing just one earned run over 6 2/3 innings of work. He struck out eight batters and walked four and the lone run came on a solo homer in the sixth inning.
George Kirby got the start for the Mariners and the Blue Jays got to him in the third inning. Daulton Varsho and George Springer hit singles and then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. brought in the first run of the game with a ground out to third. Next up, Bo Bichette smashed his first home run of the season to extend Toronto’s lead to 3-0.
The Blue Jays added a couple more runs in the fourth inning. Cavan Biggio led off the inning with a single and Isiah Kiner-Falefa drove him in with a double. Later in the frame, Springer brought Kiner-Falera home with a single. That was the end of the line for Kirby, as he was pulled after allowing five runs in four innings.
The Mariners made the game interesting in the late innings when Dominic Canzone hit a two-run home run off Trevor Richards to make the score 5-3. Chad Green came into the game to finish off the eighth inning and then picked up his second save in as many games with a three up, three down ninth inning, highlighted by a game-ending double play turned by Kiner-Falefa and Bichette.
Now at 6-6 on the year, the Blue Jays will look to complete their first sweep of the season on Wednesday afternoon. Yusei Kikuchi will take the mound for Toronto against his former team and right-hander Logan Gilbert will go for the Mariners.
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