Bo Bichette homered twice, Alek Manoah matched his career longest with eight innings on the mound and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-1 on Saturday.
Bichette’s first shot came with no men in the trails off right-hander Hunter Greene in the fourth inning. The second in the game and the 50th in the batter’s career, he drove in a pair of runs against Mexican Luis Cessa (2-1) in the seventh inning.
Both came on the first pitch they threw at him. It’s the sixth time Bichette has hit more than one home run in his career.
All of his home runs this season have either tied the score or given Toronto the lead.
Greene allowed one run and four hits in six innings, during which he walked twice and struck out six. He made his first start since last Sunday, when he pitched 7 1/3 innings against Pittsburgh.
Manoah (5-1) gave up one run on seven hits to snap a three-start winless streak. He had his first win since April 28, when he beat Boston.
He walked and dished out four strikeouts.
Jordan Romano struck out all three of his opponents in the ninth inning for his 14th save in 16 attempts, leading the American League.
For the Reds, the Mexican Alejo López 3-2.
For the Blue Jays, the Dominicans Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 4-0, Teoscar Hernández 3-0, Santiago Espinal 4-1, Raimel Tapia 3-1 with a run scored. Mexican Alejandro Kirk 2-0. Cuban Lourdes Gurriel Jr. 3-1.
