Blue Jays Win 4-2 to Even Series
A’s Offense No Match for Soriano
In the second game of their three-game series, the Toronto Blue Jays managed to even the score with a 4-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics. The Blue Jays' starter, José Soriano, had a strong outing, allowing just two solo home runs and striking out three while walking none over five innings. The Athletics, however, were unable to capitalize on early scoring opportunities and ultimately fell short.
A’s left fielder Henry Bolte led off the bottom of the first inning with an infield single, reaching base with two outs. Despite this, the Athletics failed to capitalize on this chance. In the second inning, Blue Jays left fielder Josh Smith hit a solo home run, extending the Blue Jays' lead to 1-0. The Athletics' third baseman, Kazuma Okamoto, followed up with his 30th home run of the season, tying the Athletics' total home runs allowed to that of the Blue Jays.
Soriano continued to dominate the Athletics, allowing only two runs on seven hits over three scoreless innings. The Athletics' offense struggled against Soriano, who notched three strikeouts in his first three innings. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Athletics finally broke through, with left fielder Carlos Cortes hitting his ninth home run of the season, tying the game at 2-2. This was followed by another home run from the Athletics in the sixth inning, putting the Blue Jays up 3-2.
The Athletics made an attempt to come back in the sixth inning, but were unable to overcome the Blue Jays' dominance. The Athletics' bullpen also struggled, as Chris Roycroft failed to strand inherited runners. Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb came in to close out the game, allowing just two runs over two scoreless innings.
As a result of this hard-fought game, the Blue Jays evened the series at 1-1. They will now look to continue their winning ways in the series finale tomorrow afternoon, with pitcher Brady Basso set to start for Toronto. The Athletics, on the other hand, will be looking to bounce back in their next game, with Brady Basso also set to start.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
