Limp Bats Sink Astros Yet Again. Blue Jays Take Opener 4-3

Seven hits won’t win many games. Even with Justin Verlander pitching. Unfortunately, of late seven hits is a good night for the Astros, who entered the game hitting below the Mendoza line as a team.

At least tonight they strung together a few of the hits, Alex Bregman getting an RBI single and Yuli Gurriel following soon after with a two RBI hit in the third inning.

The Blue Jays answered with a run in the fourth on singles by Raimel Tapia and Vladimir Guerrero. Tapia scored on a Lourdes Gurriel groundout that just missed being an inning ending double play.

The Jays scored two more in the fifth to tie the score with two just-barely homers. The first by Santiago Espinal barely cleared the yellow line in left center. The next by Bradley Zimmer was a Crawford Box special delivery, an easy out in 28 other stadiums. Still, a fly out pitcher like Verlander will tend to surrender a few of those and tonight was his night.

For the night Verlander went six innings, allowing three runs, four hits, a walk while striking out five. The two home runs were his demise.

Astros pitchers Phil Maton and Rafael Montero held the Jays until the ninth. Hector Neris earned the loss in the ninth allowing a single to Guerrero and then the game winning RBI double to Matt Chapman.

In the bottom of the ninth Aledmys Diaz managed to hit Jose to Siri to third with one out, but the Astros failed to capitalize, thus ensuring their third straight loss.