Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) reacts as he is pulled from the game as Jays Vladimir Guerrero Jr. approaches the mound during 5th inning of MLB baseball action against Houston Astros in Toronto on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — Joey Loperfido scored the tiebreaking run on a throwing error in the eighth inning as the Houston Astros earned a second straight win over the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1, on Wednesday.

Loperfido had hit a triple, and with Yainer Diaz next at the plate, Jeff Hoffman's pickoff attempt went wide of third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, who looked as though he didn't expect it coming and Loperfido easily scored on the play.

Jeremy Pena added an RBI single in the ninth that drove home Brice Matthews.

Mike Burrows struck out three batters and surrendered two hits and one run in six innings for Houston (38-43). Steven Okert (1-0), Bryan King and Josh Hader pitched in relief. Isaac Paredes hit an RBI double in the first inning.

Trey Yesavage gave up two hits, one run and five walks while striking out five batters in 5 2/3 innings for Toronto (39-40). Tommy Nance, Hoffman (5-5) and Mason Fluharty came on in relief. Nathan Lukes hit a solo home run to even the score in the first.

Takeaways

Blue Jays: Yesavage excelled at keeping runners off base with hits, but walks were a different story. The 22-year-old gave up a walk in every inning he pitched besides the second. Yesavage was pulled after giving up a fifth walk. He threw 105 pitches, 61 being strikes.

Astros: Houston's batters grinded out Yesavage but had a hard time putting it together for runs. The Astros left runners in scoring position in the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

Key moment

Hoffman's pickoff attempt of Loperfido at third allowed the former Blue Jay to score the tiebreaking run.

Key stat

Paredes drove in the first run of the contest in all three games of the series. The third baseman had RBI singles in the opening innings of each of the first two games before an RBI double in the first inning Wednesday.

Up next

Right-hander Kevin Gausman (4-5, 4.04 ERA) will start for the Blue Jays in the opener of their three-game homestand against Texas on Thursday. The Rangers have left-hander MacKenzie Gore (4-6, 4.07 ERA) pencilled in to start.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2026