The lead changed hands four times before Toronto finally pulled away. The Blue Jays defeated the Houston Astros 4-2 on Monday at Rogers Centre, winning a back-and-forth contest that was not settled until the seventh inning.
Kazuma Okamoto was the offensive catalyst for Toronto, going 2-for-3 with a home run, an RBI and a walk. His solo shot to left center in the second inning — 388 feet — tied the game at 1-1 and set the tone for an evening of traded leads. Okamoto carries a .234 average with 17 home runs and 46 RBI on the season. Dylan Cease gave Toronto a quality start, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits over 5.2 innings while striking out 8 and walking 4 on 110 pitches. He did not factor in the decision, carrying a 2.75 ERA into the night.
Houston struck first in the top of the first when Isaac Paredes singled to left and Jeremy Pena scored. Toronto answered in the second on Okamoto's homer, then took the lead in the fourth when Giménez scored on a sacrifice fly by Vladimir Guerrero. The Astros pulled even in the sixth — Jose Altuve singled to right and Yordan Alvarez scored to make it 2-2. The Blue Jays reclaimed the lead for good in the seventh: Varsho scored on a sacrifice fly by Myles Straw, the go-ahead run that proved to be the difference. Alejandro Kirk added an insurance run in the eighth, his sacrifice fly to left scoring George Springer to make it 4-2.
Enyel De Los Santos absorbed the loss for Houston, allowing 1 run on 2 hits over 1.1 innings to fall to 0-2 with a 4.59 ERA. Braydon Fisher earned the win with 1.1 scoreless innings, improving to 3-2. Louie Varland closed it out with a perfect ninth for his 16th save of the season, carrying a 1.05 ERA.
Toronto moved to 38-39, third in the division. Houston fell to 37-42, fourth in the division.