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Martin’s jack lifts Sanchez, Blue Jays over Astros
- Updated: August 13, 2016
TORONTO — The Blue Jays’ offense was held in check for the second consecutive day until Russell Martin changed all of that with one swing of the bat.
Martin’s three-run homer in the sixth inning proved to be the difference-maker in Toronto’s 4-2 victory over the Astros on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre. That snapped Houston’s win streak at four games and allowed the Blue Jays to pull even with the Orioles for first place in the American League East, pending the result of Baltimore’s game in San Francisco on Saturday night.
Right-hander Aaron Sanchez picked up the victory for Toronto, moving to 12-2 this season after he limited the Astros to two runs over seven strong innings. Houston scored two in the first, but it would not score again off Sanchez, who scattered five hits and walked three while throwing 58 of his 95 pitches for strikes.
Jose Altuve tripled and doubled in the loss, while Carlos Correa also hit a two-run two-bagger, but other than that, it was a pretty quiet afternoon for the Astros’ lineup. Right-hander Collin McHugh was the hard-luck loser after he departed in the sixth with a pair of runners on base protecting a 2-1 lead. McHugh ended up being charged with three of the four runs on five hits and two walks after Martin’s homer off James Hoyt.
“It’s a shame that the end of the outing will define the outing a little bit,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “He worked pretty hard to get through his innings.”
With the loss, Houston dropped to 2 1/2 games back of Boston for the second AL Wild Card spot. The Red Sox were scheduled to face the D-backs on Saturday night.
MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDMartin leaves his mark: With two outs in the sixth, Martin stepped to the plate with a pair of runners on base. Houston called upon Hoyt, who initially retired Troy Tulowitzki, but then surrendered a deep home run to center off Martin’s bat. The three-run shot traveled a projected 424 feet and left his bat at 103 mph, …
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