Big second inning powers Toronto past the Brewers 9-4

Toronto opened up its trip to Milwaukee Friday night with a 9-4 win over the Brewers at American Family Field.

The Blue Jays jumped on Adrian Houser early, tagging him for five runs in the second inning. It included a three-run double from Matt Champman and an RBI double from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. But manager Craig Counsell stayed with Houser and it paid off as he kept Toronto off the board for another four innings.

His replacement in the seventh, Trevor Kelley, didn’t fair well, though. He gave up a solo homer to Cavan Biggio and then a two-run shot to Alejandro Kirk.

Milwaukee’s offense could not match up as Alek Manoah put the clamps on the Brewers lineup. He went 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out six. The only mistake Milwaukee made him pay for came in the seventh when Tyrone Taylor took him deep for a solo home run.

The Brewers did score a couple runs in the ninth, including an RBI single from Christian Yelich. The left fielder went 2 for 4 on the night and drove in a pair.

Despite the loss, the Brewers stayed in a tie for first place in the NL Central with St. Louis, which got shut out at home against the Cubs.

It’ll be Milwaukee and Toronto again Saturday afternoon.