Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich led off the ninth inning with back-to-back homers Saturday afternoon, and the visiting Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1.
The homers came on consecutive pitches from Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman (8-6) that brought boos from the crowd. The Brewers added a run when Sal Frelick walked and Isaac Collins doubled.
The Brewers have won the first two games of the three-game series between division leaders.
Myles Straw had three hits to lead the Blue Jays.
Straw robbed Chourio of a home run with a leaping catch at the center field wall in the first inning. Chourio, returning from a hamstring injury, swung at the first pitch he saw from Kevin Gausman.
Milwaukee starter Quinn Priester worked out of trouble in the third after Toronto had runners at second and third with one out after Ty France’s single and Straw’s double.
Straw led off the home sixth with an infield hit, a trickler down the third base line. George Springer hit a potential double-play grounder to third, but second baseman Brice Turang threw errantly to first. Springer reached second on the error and took third on Addison Barger’s single to right. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who came to bat in a 1-for-19 drought, hit a sacrifice fly to center.
Priester allowed one unearned run, five hits and no walks with three strikeouts in six innings.
After allowing a leadoff single in the fourth, Gausman retired nine in a row before Yelich led off the top of the seventh with a double into the right field corner. He took third on a groundout to first. Yelich scored when Gausman tagged Frelick, who hit a check-swing squibber up the first base line.
Gausman allowed one run and four hits, with eight strikeouts, in seven innings. Seranthony Dominguez overcame two Milwaukee singles in the top of the eighth with the help of a double play.
Milwaukee’s Nick Mears allowed a single in the eighth between two outs before Aaron Ashby (3-1) took over to get the final out.
Abner Uribe pitched around a single in the home ninth with a double play to earn his fourth save.
