Alejandro Kirk’s tiebreaking RBI single off the right field wall in the ninth inning lifted the Toronto Blue Jays over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Kirk’s game-winning hit came against former Blue Jays reliever Jordan Romano (0-2).
Former Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman (5-2) retired one batter in the ninth to pick up the win.
Nick Castellanos hit a solo home run for the Phillies. The teams have split the first two of a three-game series.
The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the second.
Castellanos drove Jose Berrios’ first-pitch, two-out sinker over the wall in right-center.
Andres Gimenez singled with two outs in the third for Toronto’s first hit off Mick Abel, who was making his second career major league start.
Philadelphia loaded the bases with one out in the fifth when Max Kepler walked, J.T. Realmuto singled and Brandon Marsh walked but Berrios escaped.
Berrios pitched a perfect sixth to finish his outing with one run allowed on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
Abel did not survive the Toronto sixth. Gimenez singled with one out, took second on a wild pitch and scored on Bo Bichette’s triple to left-center that grazed off the glove of Marsh, who attempted a sliding catch. Orion Kerkering completed the inning and Abel finished with one run allowed on three hits and no walks with two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Toronto’s Brendon Little retired all five batters that he faced before Hoffman replaced him with two outs in the ninth. Hoffman allowed a single before ending the inning.
Romano entered in the bottom of the ninth for Philadelphia and received a generous ovation. With Bichette leading off, Realmuto left the game after he was injured by a foul ball. Rafael Marchan took over behind the plate.
After Bichette fouled out, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled to extend his on-base streak to 34 games. Guerrero stole second and scored the winning run on Kirk’s two-out hit.
Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler was put on the paternity list and replaced by Abel, who was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
–Field Level Media
