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The Houston Astros opened July by celebrating Canada Day in Toronto against the Toronto Blue Jays.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The first four innings of the game on Canada Day had a combined one base hit as both Hunter Brown and Yariel Rodriguez were able to rattle the batting orders. However, in the fifth, Jeremy Pena put a run on the board with a solo home run to left field to give the Astros a 1-0 advantage.
Hunter Brown delivered six scoreless innings for the Astros as the young arm continued his nice run of form. He added five strikeouts in 99 pitches on the afternoon.
In the bottom of the eighth, Toronto loaded the bases with an opportunity to tie the game or even take the lead. However, Bryan Abreu got out of the jam to keep Houston in front.
The Astros added insult to injury in the ninth as Yordan Alvarez launched a two-run shot to straight center field to increase their lead to 3-0.
Toronto got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run from Ernie Clement to cut into the lead at 3-1. Josh Hader was able to recover after the home run and seal the win for the Astros.
BIG NUMBER: 7
There were seven base hits between both teams in a well-defended matchup. The Astros were able to get home runs in the fifth and ninth innings to put their runs on the board.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Hunter Brown
Brown pitched six innings of scoreless baseball, giving up three walks, two hits, and five strikeouts in another quality start.
UP NEXT: The Astros and Blue Jays will play their second game of the midweek series on Tuesday. First pitch from Rogers Centre is set for 6:07 p.m. and can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles.