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Dubón has tiebreaking hit, Peña homers as Astros beat Blue Jays 5-3 for 12th win in 14 games

Posted 7/4/24

Mauricio Dubón hit a tiebreaking single in the fifth inning, Jeremy Peña added a solo home run and the Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 on Thursday for their 12th win in 14 games. …

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Dubón has tiebreaking hit, Peña homers as Astros beat Blue Jays 5-3 for 12th win in 14 games

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TORONTO (AP) — Mauricio Dubón hit a tiebreaking single in the fifth inning, Jeremy Peña added a solo home run and the Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 on Thursday for their 12th win in 14 games.

Framber Valdez pitched six innings to win his third straight start as the Astros extended their team-record Fourth of July winning streak to seven.

Yordan Alvarez reached base four times and scored a run as Houston won the four-game series 3-1.

Peña went 2 for 4 with a walk and scored twice. He extended Houston’s lead with a solo homer off Trevor Richards in the seventh inning, his seventh of the season. Peña also homered in Monday’s series opener.

Valdez (7-5) allowed three runs and nine hits. He walked two and struck out four.

Tayler Scott pitched the seventh, Ryan Pressley worked the eighth and Josh Hader finished for his 14th save in 15 chances.

Both teams scored three runs in a first inning that produced eight hits and two walks.

Yainer Diaz opened the scoring with a bases-loaded groundout and Jon Singleton followed with a two-run single off Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt.

Toronto answered with five hits against Valdez in the bottom half. Two runs scored on a bases-loaded single by Spencer Horwitz and Alejandro Kirk added an RBI double.

Peña hit a one-out single in the fifth, advanced on a groundout and scored on Dubón’s single to center.

Bassitt (7-7) allowed four runs and eight hits in five innings to lose for the first time since May 17 against Tampa Bay.

The Blue Jays used a walk and an infield single to put two runners on in the bottom of the fifth, but Astros third baseman Alex Bregman started an inning-ending double play on Danny Jansen’s grounder.

Toronto put the tying run at third base with one out in the sixth but Valdez finished his outing by getting Kirk and Ernie Clement to ground out.

The Blue Jays intentionally walked Alvarez to load the bases with two outs in the fourth. Diaz fouled out to end the inning.

Alvarez was hit by pitches in the sixth and ninth innings.

ROSTER MOVES

Blue Jays: Jansen was activated off the paternity list and catcher Brian Serven was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: Shortstop Bo Bichette was scratched from the lineup because of a right forearm contusion. The two-time AL hit leader struck out on a pitch that hit him in the arm on Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Astros: Houston had not announced a starter for Friday’s game at Minnesota. RHP Pablo López (8-6, 4.88 ERA) is scheduled for the Twins.

Blue Jays: RHP Kevin Gausman (6-7, 4.75 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday against Mariners RHP Luis Castillo (6-9, 3.87) in the opener of a three-game series at Seattle.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb