Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher J.A. Happ throws a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at the Rogers Centre, in Toronto, on May 22, 2018.Nick Turchiaro/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
Toronto starter J.A. Happ served up another solid, and perhaps most important, lengthy outing, just the tonic the Blue Jays needed to erase the remnants of a four-game home slide.
Struggling designated hitter Kendrys Morales also homered as the Blue Jays (23-25) piled up all their runs in the first inning and hung tight to beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 at Rogers Centre on Tuesday night.
It was the first of a three-game series against the Angels (26-22). The Blue Jays were coming off a four-game sweep by the Oakland Athletics. The Blue Jays are hoping for a bounce-back effort before their postseason aspirations fade away.
Earlier in the day the Blue Jays welcomed back Devon Travis from their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo and he got the start at second.
The Blue Jays got the fast start they needed, piling up five runs on Oakland starter Garrett Richards (4-3) in the first inning – four of them unearned after a Chris Young fielding error in right.
Josh Donaldson got things rolling with a one-out double, one of two doubles he hit on Tuesday.
But the big blow was a home run by Morales, which scored two runs. After a terrible start, Morales is finally hitting with some authority. It was his fourth home run of the season.
The Angels broke through with two in the fourth but apart from that, Happ was in comfortable control. The Angels added their final run on sacrifice fly by Ian Kinsler in the eighth.
For his second straight outing, Happ (6-3) pitched seven innings. He allowed two runs and three hits with five strikeouts and three walks.
Richards lasted five innings and allowed five runs (just one earned) off six hits.
In other news of some interest to Toronto fans, the New York Mets, meanwhile, added former Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista to their roster on Tuesday. They agreed to a one-year deal.