Field Level Media
Jun 15, 2018
Yangervis Solarte hit two home runs, Devon Travis added a two-run blast and the Toronto Blue Jays held on to defeat the visiting Washington Nationals 6-5 Friday night.
The Blue Jays ended a three-game losing streak in the opener of the three-game interleague series.
Reliever Seunghwan Oh (2-2) pitched a perfect seventh to earn the win.
Ryan Tepera picked up his fourth save of the season despite a leadoff single by Wilmer Difo, who stole second and took third when pinch hitter Brian Goodwin flied out to deep left. Difo held third when Adam Eaton grounded out to second with the infield in, and Trea Turner struck out to end the game.
Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez allowed three runs, six hits, two walks and a wild pitch while striking out eight in six innings.
Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez (6-3) allowed five runs, nine hits and two walks in six-plus innings. Toronto ended a string of 11 straight losses when opposing a left-handed starter.
The Nationals led 1-0 in the first inning after Bryce Harper walked with two outs, stole second and scored on a single by Anthony Rendon.
Washington led 2-0 in the second on Juan Soto's double and Pedro Severino's RBI single.
The Blue Jays scored three runs in the third. Aledmys Diaz led off with an infield single, and Travis followed with his third homer of the season. Solarte added his first homer of the game, a two-out solo shot.
A wild pitch by Sanchez in the fifth allowed the Nationals to tie the game at 3. It scored Turner, who singled, stole second and took third on a single by Rendon.
Gonzalez was replaced by Justin Miller with none out and runners at second and third in the seventh after a leadoff single by Travis and a ground-rule double from Teoscar Hernandez to right that Eaton lost in the twilight.
Smoak hit a sacrifice fly to right to give Toronto a 4-3 lead. Solarte put a 3-1 pitch into the second deck in right for his 14th homer of the season, and the Blue Jays led 6-3.
The Nationals scored two runs in the top of the eighth. Harper singled against Aaron Loup and took third on Rendon's double against John Axford. Daniel Murphy hit an RBI single, and Rendon scored when Mark Reynolds grounded into a double play.
Reynolds replaced Matt Adams at first base for the Nationals in the third inning because of a possible hand injury.
--Field Level Media