Mike Burrows overcame an early homer and limited the Blue Jays to one run in six innings Wednesday in his return to the Astros’ rotation.
Chris Young/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Isaac Paredes (15) hits an RBI double against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Chris Young/Associated Press
Houston Astros pitcher Mike Burrows (50) works against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Chris Young/Associated Press
Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz (21) congratulated Astros pitcher Mike Burrows (50) after Toronto Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lined out to end sixth inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Chris Young/Associated Press
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) eyes Houston Astros pitcher Mike Burrows (50) during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Chris Young/Associated Press
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) works against the Houston Astros during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Chris Young/Associated Press
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) reacts during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Chris Young/Associated Press
Toronto Blue Jays’ Nathan Lukes (38) celebrates in the dug out after hitting a solo home run against the Houston Astros during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Chris Young/Associated Press
TORONTO — After an encouraging start by a right-hander seeking one, the Houston Astros still needed a run. For the second straight game, a young outfielder facing his former team provided the key swing.
Joey Loperfido tripled and scored on an error to snap an eighth-inning tie. Three Astros relievers backed a strong outing from Mike Burrows. And the Astros claimed a taut 3-1 win and series victory against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Houston has won four consecutive series. It left Toronto with a 39-43 record, the closest it has been to the .500 mark since April 16, its 11-inning win Tuesday decided by a three-run homer from Loperfido, traded by the Blue Jays back to Houston this spring.
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A 1-1 tie entered the eighth. Loperfido arrived with one out to face Jeff Hoffman, a reverse-splits right-hander. Hoffman hovered a splitter in the zone. Loperfido drove it off the center-field wall, sprinting to third base on the carom.
In 77 previous at-bats against left-handed hitters this year, Hoffman had allowed three extra-base hits. None were against his splitter. Hoffman then committed a costly gaffe. His pickoff throw to third sailed wide. Loperfido jogged home.
Toronto threatened to answer. Luis Urías struck a one-out single against Bryan King in the bottom of the inning. A passed ball sent him to second base. George Springer sliced a drive toward the right-field wall.
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Cam Smith, in full pursuit, made a leaping catch in front of the fence. Urías had abandoned caution and started for third base. Jose Altuve had time to receive Smith’s throw and underhand a flip to shortstop Jeremy Peña, doubling Urías off to end the inning.
Peña’s infield single, aided by a wide Ernie Clement throw, scored an insurance run in the ninth. Astros closer Josh Hader, working for the third time in four days, navigated a one-out walk in a scoreless ninth. Catcher Yainer Diaz won an ABS challenge for the final strike.
Burrows authored a quality start, allowing one run across six innings. Trey Yesavage nearly matched him with one run allowed in 5 ⅔ innings. Both starters allowed two hits. The teams combined for just eight hits in the contest.
Houston
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
31
3
4
2
8
8
Altuve 2b
4
0
0
0
1
0
.239
Alvarez dh
3
0
0
0
2
1
.322
Peña ss
3
1
1
1
2
1
.285
Paredes 1b
5
0
1
1
0
1
.248
Loperfido lf
3
1
1
0
1
0
.241
Meyers cf
0
0
0
0
0
0
.205
Diaz c
4
0
1
0
0
1
.246
Smith rf
3
0
0
0
1
1
.220
Matthews cf-lf
3
1
0
0
1
2
.201
Delgado 3b
3
0
0
0
0
1
.286
Toronto
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
30
1
4
1
2
6
Springer dh
4
0
0
0
0
2
.223
Lukes rf
3
1
1
1
0
0
.301
b-Straw ph
1
0
0
0
0
0
.242
Guerrero 1b
3
0
0
0
1
0
.277
Okamoto 3b
4
0
0
0
0
2
.238
Varsho cf
4
0
2
0
0
1
.266
Kirk c
3
0
0
0
0
0
.191
Schneider lf
3
0
0
0
0
1
.158
Giménez ss
2
0
0
0
0
0
.232
a-Clement ph-ss
1
0
0
0
0
0
.292
Urías 2b
2
0
1
0
1
0
.429
Houston
100
000
011_3
4
0
Toronto
100
000
000_1
4
2
a-lined out for Giménez in the 8th. b-grounded out for Lukes in the 9th.
E_Giménez (3), Hoffman (1). LOB_Houston 10, Toronto 4. 2B_Paredes (15). 3B_Loperfido (1). HR_Lukes (3), off Burrows. RBIs_Paredes (40), Peña (19), Lukes (15). SB_Smith (9), Varsho (7). S_Delgado.
Runners left in scoring position_Houston 5 (Matthews 2, Loperfido, Paredes 2); Toronto 1 (Schneider). RISP_Houston 1 for 8; Toronto 0 for 2.
DP_Houston 1 (Altuve, Smith, Peña, Smith).
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
6
2
1
1
1
3
93
5.48
1
1
0
0
0
1
19
2.35
1
1
0
0
0
0
14
2.38
1
0
0
0
1
2
15
0.90
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
5
2
1
1
5
5
105
3.56
1
0
0
0
0
1
12
3.81
1
1
1
0
1
2
13
4.84
1
1
1
1
2
0
20
3.98
Inherited runners-scored_Nance 1-0. IBB_off Hoffman (Alvarez). PB_Diaz (2).
ABS Challenge_Springer (Strike-Confirmed); Yesavage (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Kirk (Strike-Confirmed); King (Ball-Confirmed); Hader (Ball-Overturned to Strike).
Pitch timer violations_Hoffman (pitcher).
Umpires_Home, Chad Whitson; First, Dillon Wilson; Second, Bill Miller; Third, Brian Walsh.
T_2:34. A_39,264 (39,150).
Quality start for Burrows
Moved to the bullpen during last weekend’s series against the Guardians, Burrows rejoined the rotation likely under some scrutiny. The Astros are still weighing whether to active Cristian Javier this weekend. If so, they will need to create a spot in the rotation for him.
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Burrows, perhaps, stated a case to remain. He held the Blue Jays to two hits across six innings, inducing mostly ineffective contact. Toronto averaged an 84.2 mph exit velocity on 17 balls in play against him, a metric that mitigated Burrows’ lack of swing-and-miss.
Lukes, the second batter to face Burrows, hit a 3-1 four-seamer into the right-field seats. It was the 19th home run allowed by Burrows this season. Twelve are against his four-seamer, nine of those hit by left-handed batters. From there, however, Burrows was brilliant.
He retired 17 of 19 hitters to end his outing, the exceptions a walk and a fourth-inning single by Daulton Varsho. The Blue Jays did not take an at-bat with a runner in scoring position against him. Two hits were Burrows’ fewest allowed in a start this season.
Despite talk of Burrows using his two-seam fastball more, he threw just six on 93 pitches, per Statcast, and threw his four-seamer 31% of the time. He used his slider more against a lineup with six righties; it induced five whiffs on 15 swings and five outs on balls in play.
Burrows landed more than 50% of his four-seamers and changeups in-zone and got Blue Jays hitters to chase his breaking pitches. With the Astros’ bullpen taxed, Burrows lasted six innings. The quality start was his fourth in 15 starts. He has a 5.48 ERA in 85 1/3 innings.
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Yesavage yields little
Before his team faced Yesavage for the first time, Astros manager Joe Espada stated an objective: “We have to force him to bring pitches more in the middle of the plate. His split-finger can be devastating if you chase it.”
Results were mixed. Astros hitters chased Yesavage’s slider at a 44% rate and his splitter at a 38% clip, according to Statcast. They also drew five walks and drove up the right-hander’s pitch count. Yesavage allowed just two hits, however, before departing with two outs in the sixth.
Paredes pulled a slider in the first, his sinking liner eluding a diving left fielder Davis Schneider. Peña scored from first base on the double. Yesavage did not permit another hit until Yainer Diaz shot a single up the middle in the fourth, putting men on first and second with one out.
Yesavage struck out Smith, who chased a slider below the zone, and Brice Matthews, with a high splitter that clipped the zone after two whiffs on sliders. He worked around an error and a walk in the fifth, inducing a groundout from Paredes with his 94th pitch.
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Toronto sent him back out for the sixth. Yesavage notched two quick outs before walking Smith on his 105th pitch, prompting manager John Schneider to retrieve him. Tommy Nance retired Matthews on a groundout to finalize Yesavage’s line.
Paredes trending up
Earlier this month, Paredes acknowledged through an interpreter that he “started really slow.” He did not hit a home run until his 19th game of the season. His OPS dipped to .695 on May 29. Since then, it has trended upward.
Paredes entered Wednesday with a .921 OPS across his last 100 plate appearances. He was 12-for-29 amid a modest eight-game hitting streak, which he extended in his first at-bat with his RBI double off Yesavage. Paredes drove in a first-inning run in all three games of this series.
Peña slotted third in the Astros’ lineup for the first time in his career Wednesday, with first baseman Christian Walker getting a “breather” amid his struggles in June. It proved fortuitous as Peña’s speed ahead of Paredes, who batted cleanup, produced the game’s first run.