Blanco dominates Jays in strongest start of season

HOUSTON -- There’s something about the Blue Jays that brings out the best in Astros starter Ronel Blanco.

Blanco, who no-hit Toronto in his first start of last year in Houston, got his 2025 season back on track Tuesday night at Daikin Park by holding the Blue Jays to two hits and one run in a season-high 6 2/3 innings to lead the Astros to a 5-1 win to improve to 12-11.

“I thought today [that] stuff-wise, that’s been his best all season,” said Astros manager Joe Espada, who earned his 100th career win. “The fastball was up to 96 [mph], the depth on his slider was great and he used his curveball more to get quick outs in the first couple of innings. I thought his stuff was outstanding. He pounded the zone and was efficient. That was a strong performance by Ronel Blanco.”

A day after Hunter Brown and Forrest Whitley combined to throw a two-hit shutout against the Blue Jays, Blanco and relievers Bryan King, Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader authored a two-hitter of their own. King needed one pitch to finish the seventh, and Abreu and Hader each struck out two of the three batters they faced.

It’s the first time since June 25-26, 2022, that the Astros allowed four hits or fewer over a two-game stretch. That included a three-pitcher no-hitter at Yankee Stadium started by Cristian Javier.

“I feel like our pitching staff has kept us in ballgames all year,” said shortstop Jeremy Pe?a, who went 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. “These guys have been lights out and are giving us a chance to win. Tonight, Ronel Blanco, he was lights out. King had one pitch. Abreu, Hader, they were great.”

Blanco, who came into the game with a 6.48 ERA and had yet to work past the fifth inning in his previous four starts, retired 20 of the 24 Blue Jays he faced, giving up a third-inning homer to Nathan Lukes and a fifth-inning single to Ernie Clement. He struck out three batters.

The velocity on his four-seam fastball had an average of 94.3 mph, which was 1.1 mph higher than his season average. His slider and changeup were both up .6 mph.

“The curveball is good, especially against some of those right-handers,” Espada said. “I thought he did a really good job mixing the curveball in, and once you hit 94-96 with your fastball, now the curveball is a better pitch.”

In winning four of their last five games to get above .500 for the first time since March 29 (2-1), Astros pitchers have posted a 2.00 ERA and .583 OPS in that span with 33 hits allowed, 10 walks and 35 strikeouts in 45 innings. The bullpen has a 1.76 ERA (three earned runs in 15 1/3 innings) in that span.

“Pretty impressive,” Espada said.

The Astros scored three times in the first against Blue Jays starter Chris Bassit, who came into the game having allowed only two earned runs in 23 1/3 innings and with a 0.77 ERA that was second in the Major Leagues. What’s more, Houston had scored only three total first-inning runs in their previous 23 games this year.

Four of the first five Astros hitters reached on singles, including a soft line drive by Yordan Alvarez that was 78.2 mph off the bat, an RBI single single by Pe?a (3-for-4) that had a 47.4 mph exit velocity and an RBI single by Christian Walker (3-for-3) that caromed off second base.

The 3-0 lead after one inning was more than enough for Blanco, though Isaac Paredes added his team-high fourth homer in the seventh inning for good measure.

“It’s always good to set the tone from the jump,” Pe?a said. “I feel like [Jose] Altuve’s like the battery of this team in the leadoff spot. He always set the tone from the jump, with Yordan right after him. … It’s just a matter of competing every time we step up to the plate. We don’t have anybody that gives away at-bats. We have guys that grind every single at-bat. I think that's what makes us a great ballclub.”