Bo Bichette hit a grand slam and Alejandro Kirk homered for the second straight game as Ross Strippling and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the decimated Chicago White Sox 9-5 on Wednesday.
Bichette’s second career grand slam capped a five-run fourth-inning run by Toronto, which avoided a three-game series sweep.
Kirk had an RBI single in the first inning and a homer to center field in the third. He leads the voting for the All-Star game at the American League catcher position.
Likewise, he is the leader among Major League catchers in batting average (.307) and OPS (.857). In five games this season against the White Sox, Kirk hit .364 (8-for-22) with four homers and eight RBIs.
Lucas Giolito (4-4) gave up seven runs and a season-high 11 hits in five innings. He now has a 9.47 ERA in his last five starts.
Kirk is 4-for-9 with three home runs and six RBIs against Giolito.
Stripling (4-2) allowed one run in six innings. He gave up five spaced-out hits and didn’t allow a runner past second until the sixth, when Josh Harrison scored from first on Luis Robert’s single.
For the Blue Jays, the Dominicans Santiago Espinal 4-1 with two runs scored, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 5-1 with a run scored, Teoscar Hernández 4-2 with a run scored and two produced, Raimel Tapia 4-0. Mexican Kirk 5-2 with a run scored and two RBIs. Cuban Lourdes Gurriel 4-2 with a run scored and an RBI. Venezuelan Gabriel Moreno 4-2 with a run scored.
For the White Sox, the Dominican Leury GarcÃa 4-0. The Cubans Robert 3-1 with an RBI, José Abreu 3-1 with a run scored.