Martin also threw out Houston’s Jose Altuve attempted steal with a flawless peg to second in the third inning, the second straight game he has managed to strike down the Astros’ speed merchant.
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The Blue Jays took three of four from the Astros to start the month and dropped three of six since, but hold a half-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East. Toronto will have to move on without injured slugger Jose Bautista (knee), but second baseman Devon Travis has been picking up any slack while going 15-for-31 with three homers and eight RBIs during a seven-game hitting streak.
Josh Donaldson also homered for the Jays, a no-doubt solo shot in the first, his 28th of the season. But he still contained a unsafe Blue Jays lineup, pitching seven innings and allowing just two runs while striking out seven in a 5-3 Blue Jays loss.
After spotting the visiting Houston Astros a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a single and back-to-back doubles, Sanchez froze catcher Evan Gattis with a strike three curveball to end the threat.
The Blue Jays outfield, shorthanded by injuries to two of three starters, could get a modest boost early next week with the expected return of Ezequiel Carrera, who has been out since August 1 with an injury to his Achilles tendon.
It looked like it might be a short outing for Sanchez on Saturday as he was rocked hard in the first inning by the Astros, surrendering three hits including two doubles, all to right field. He allowed two runs and five hits.
In the fourth, Toronto drew even when leadoff batter Michael Saunders cranked his 20th home run of the season, setting a personal career-high. I never thought I was going to get there, but I am really glad and really happy.
“Replay helps us more than it hurts us but that’s where I wish they would have taken away replay for a day”, Hinch said.
The Blue Jays didn’t get to McHugh again until the sixth. Gurriel defected in February after competing in the Caribbean World Series in the Dominican Republic. He is expected back by mid-September.
Starting the game, I just kind of throw to my tendencies and my strengths and they slapped three balls to right field in a hurry. He will play through the weekend in Buffalo and is eligible to rejoin the Jays Tuesday in NY against the Yankees.
Joe Musgrove will get his second career start on Friday as the Astros kick off a three-game series against the Blue Jays. Toronto has been hot-and-cold at the plate and could find itself scoring runs today, but they should get the pitching to silence the Houston bats.
Tied for second in the American League in earned-run average (2.85), Sanchez is due to make his 23rd start of the season against the Astros on Saturday afternoon.
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Depending on how you decipher the cryptic comments from Toronto manager John Gibbons about Sanchez’s upcoming workload, the young right-hander might not be returning to the mound anytime soon.
