George Springer, Spencer Horwitz and Danny Jansen had RBIs, starter Yusei Kikuchi pitched five scoreless innings and the visiting Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 on Tuesday night.
The teams have split the first two games of a three-game series that opens a six-game homestand for Milwaukee.
Kikuchi (4-5) allowed three hits and four walks while striking out five.
Yimi Garcia pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings, recording three strikeouts to earn his fifth save of the season as the Blue Jays improved to 3-2 on their six-game road trip.
Brewers starter Carlos Rodriguez (0-1) made his major league debut and allowed two runs, seven hits and one walk in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four.
Toronto scored once in the second. Daulton Varsho stroked a one-out double into the right field corner, then took third on Justin Turner’s single to left. He scored on Springer’s single to right.
Both teams failed to take advantage of solid scoring chances early in the game.
The Brewers left the bases loaded in the first inning and stranded two runners in both the second and third. Meanwhile, Rodriguez worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third.
Toronto took a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Isiah Kiner-Falefa had an infield single with one out, took second on Kevin Kiermaier’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Horwitz’s single to right. That marked the end of the night for Rodriguez, who handed the ball off to Elvis Peguero.
Kikuchi retired eight batters in a row before Nate Pearson replaced him to start the sixth and pitched around a single to strike out three.
Former Brewer Trevor Richards allowed Christian Yelich’s leadoff double in the home half of the eighth. Willy Adames followed with a walk. Richards retired the next two batters before Garcia replaced him. Milwaukee executed a double steal, but Blake Perkins struck out to end the threat.
Enoli Paredes allowed two walks and Jansen’s run-scoring double in the ninth.
Kiermaier (right knee contusion) left the game in the bottom of the seventh. He had fouled a ball off his leg in the fourth.
–Field Level Media