TORONTO — Alex Bregman’s two-run homer gave Houston the lead and the Astros held on for a 4-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.
Josh James (2-0) gave up one run on four hits over five innings of work and then Houston’s (100-57) bullpen shut the door the rest of the way.
Tony Sipp, Collin McHugh, Ryan Pressly, Hector Rondon combined for three innings of scoreless relief before Roberto Osuna came in for his 20th save of the season.
Osuna was loudly booed by the announced crowd of 28,440 at Rogers Centre. He took the mound hours after he had his domestic assault charge dropped by Crown attorneys in a Toronto courthouse.
The charges were dropped after he agreed to stay away from the alleged victim for one year and continue counselling.
Osuna, formerly with the Blue Jays closer, was charged with assault in May. The 23-year-old was suspended without pay for 75 games for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, and Toronto dealt him to Houston on July 30.
Billy McKinney’s solo homer was all the Blue Jays (71-87) could muster for starting pitcher Sam Gaviglio.
Gaviglio (3-9) allowed four runs — three earned — on six hits over five innings. He was followed out of the bullpen by Jose Fernandez, Danny Barnes, David Paulino, Mark Leiter, Jr., and Taylor Guerrieri, who did not allow a run.
Bregman got the defending World Series champion Astros on the board quickly, launching a 3-2 pitch from Gaviglio over the left-field wall, bringing home George Springer for a 2-0 lead.
McKinney replied for the Blue Jays in the bottom of the third, hitting a solo home run to deep right field with two out. It was McKinney’s sixth home run of his rookie season.
Tyler White tacked another run on for Houston in the sixth inning. His sharp single to centre field brought in Marwin Gonzalez from third base and chased Gaviglio from the game. Fernandez came on with runners on first and second and no outs.
Josh Reddick was the next Astro at bat and he hit what should have been an easy fly ball to centre-right field. In a scary moment, Jonathan Davis and McKinney collided in the outfield chasing down the ball.
McKinney’s outstretched arm clotheslined Davis and sent the centre-fielder sprawling as the ball bounced away, loading the bases and bringing Barnes to the mound.
Pinch hitter Evan Gattis then hit a flyball to deep left field, allowing Yuli Gurriel to score from third for a 4-1 Astros lead.
Notes: Blue Jays starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez had surgery on his right index finger earlier on Tuesday, ending his season. The righty has struggled with blisters and nail-related issues the past two seasons. … Toronto rookie shortstop Lourdes Gurriel Jr., was also shut down for the year with a Grade 2 hamstring strain.