ASTROS DEFEAT BLUE JAYS
Yordan Alvarez homers twice, Astros shut out Blue Jays
Apr 4, 2024, 9:55 am
ASTROS DEFEAT BLUE JAYS
Yordan Alvarez homered twice and matched his career high with four hits, Cristian Javier and four relievers combined on a one-hitter and the Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-0 on Wednesday night.
To the moon, Yordan!!🚀 pic.twitter.com/eb78rrANaD
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 4, 2024
Javier (1-0) allowed the only hit and pitched five innings. Seth Martinez, Rafael Montero, Tayler Scott and Dylan Coleman worked an inning each.
It’s the second game in the series where the Blue Jays were shut out after Ronel Blanco threw the 17th no-hitter in franchise history in a 10-0 victory Monday night.
It was a breakout night for Alvarez, who entered Wednesday having hit just three singles in the first six games. It was the 16th career multi-homer game for the Cuban and the sixth time he’s had four hits.
Unleash the beast!🤯 pic.twitter.com/g0B1Sirbx0
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 4, 2024
“It was a matter of time,” manager Joe Espada said. “Anytime he can put some good swings like that and and hit some balls hard and it’s a good sign and that's exactly what we needed.”
Alvarez said there was a simple reason why he broke out Wednesday.
“I (used) last year's bats,” he said in Spanish through a translator.
Though he had two home runs, he thought two other balls he hit were going to leave the park.
“Yeah,” he said. “Welcome to Minute Maid.”
Alvarez, who added an RBI double in the fourth, homered off Chris Bassitt (0-2) in the third and connected off Tim Mayza in the sixth.
The Astros tagged Bassitt (0-2) for nine hits and four runs in 4 1/3 innings in his second tough start to open the season after he allow 10 hits and a career-high nine runs in his season debut.
Daulton Varsho doubled with one out in the second for Toronto’s only hit. The Blue Jays walked seven times but couldn’t get anything going at the plate.
“We’re not doing much damage on balls we’re putting in play right now,” manager John Schneider said. “That’s kind of been the story of this series. It’s good pitching. So, you want to do a little bit more but you move on.”
Jeremy Peña hit a two-run homer and Jose Altuve added a solo shot in the seventh to make it 8-0. Peña had two hits and drove in three runs in his fourth multi-hit game this season. It was the second straight game with a homer for Altuve and his third this season.
There was one out in the third when Alvarez, who hit 31 homers last season, knocked one to the bullpen in right-center to put Houston on top 1-0.
Altuve walked with two outs in the fourth before scoring on a double by Alvarez to extend the lead to 2-0.
Chas McCormick and Peña hit consecutive RBI singles with one out in the fifth to make it 4-0.
The second homer by Alvarez came to start the sixth and extend the lead to 5-0. The shot landed in the seats behind the bullpen in right-center.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: RHP Alek Manoah (right shoulder soreness) threw a three-inning simulated game in Florida Tuesday. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the next step will likely be for Manoah to make a rehabilitation start for Single-A Dunedin Sunday.
Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (right shoulder inflammation) will throw a bullpen in Houston Thursday before making the first of what is expected to be two rehabilitation starts for Triple-A Sugar Land Sunday.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-1, 6.23 ERA) will face New York RHP Marcus Stroman (1-0, 0.00) in the opener of a three-game series against the Yankees on Friday.
Astros: RHP Hunter Brown (0-0, 0.00) opposes Texas RHP Cody Bradford (1-0, 3.60) in the first of four games against the Rangers on Friday night.
C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson found themselves in the same spot when they met in Week 2 last season.
Both quarterbacks were top-five draft picks, lost their season openers and seemed to be facing a steep learning curve.
Richardson won Round 1 in Houston, although he didn't finish the game.
Stroud took Round 2 in Indianapolis with the injured Richardson watching from the sideline as Texans clinched the AFC South title and Stroud locked up his runaway selection as NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
On Sunday, each QB begins his second pro season — with a lot still to prove.
“I’m excited. First official game back with my guys and my teammates,” said Richardson, who had season-ending shoulder surgery last October. "I want to win. So, whatever I’ve got to do to do that, I’m going to do it.”
Winning a season opener certainly would be a welcome change for a franchise that last started 1-0 in 2013. The 10-game winless streak is easily the NFL's longest active streak.
But that's just a start for Richardson.
He needs to improve his accuracy after completing a pedestrian 59.5% of his throws in 2023 and must demonstrate he can finish games. He missed 13 last season and only finished one of his four starts because of an assortment of injuries, including the concussion that knocked him out of that Week 2 matchup at Houston after he ran for two scores.
Stroud, meanwhile, is coming off one of the most successful rookie seasons in NFL history.
He became just the third player in a half-century to lead the league in yards passing per game (273.9) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (4.6 to 1), won a playoff game and made hist first Pro Bowl appearance.
How can he improve on a season like that? By showing last season was a building block — not a fluke. He has a stronger supporting cast, too, with Joe Mixon, a four-time 1,000-yard rusher, and Stefon Diggs, who has four straight 100-catch seasons, now in the mix.
The long journey begins Sunday in Indianapolis.
“I want to just start fast,” Stroud said. “It doesn't have to do with a certain game, just in general this season. Last year, we started off really slow and just kind of had to build our way back. It's not an easy thing to do, so I would say this year we want to start fast.”
Houston receiver Nico Collins had two of his biggest games last season against Indy — catching seven passes for 146 yards and one TD in the Week 2 matchup only to outperform those numbers with a 195-yard day that included a 75-yard TD catch in Week 18.
He could play an even bigger role this time with Indy's young secondary trying to match up not only with Collins but also Diggs, Mixon and tight end Dalton Schultz.
“Nico is a playmaker,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Every time I see him, he’s a true playmaker. So, you just have to get Nico the ball in any way, shape or fashion. Just find a way to get him the ball just to see how explosive and how dynamic he is.”
Injuries and a contract dispute prevented Jonathan Taylor from replicating the form he used to win the 2021 NFL rushing title. Starting against the Texans could be just what he needs.
In six games against Houston, Taylor has rushed for seven TDs and 135.2 yards per game — his highest average against any team he's faced multiple times. And in that rematch with Houston in Week 18, he finished with 30 carries for 188 yards, the NFL's highest single-game total all season.
Houston defensive end Will Anderson, last season’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, will play Sunday after recovering from an ankle injury that limited his training camp snaps.
The No. 3 overall pick in 2023 had 45 tackles, 10 for loss, and 7 1/2 sacks as a rookie. He expects to be even better this season.
“I’m way more comfortable,” he said. “Just going into Year 2 knowing the scheme better, knowing what to expect a little bit more and knowing what’s going to happen gives you more confidence.”
The Colts lost their 2023 sacks leader, Samson Ebukam, with a torn Achilles tendon during training. But they may have the perfect replacement.
Laiatu Latu was the first defensive player taken in April's draft, at No. 15 overall, and he's shown coaches that the moves he used to record 23 1/2 sacks over his last two college seasons can work in the NFL.
“We know that there’s going to be a learning curve there," defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. "We know there are going to be plays that we’re going to come in and say there were some good plays, and there were plays he wishes he had back — we understand that. But just his overall mentality and skill set, we’re very excited to see.”