Article content

It might have been April Fool’s Day, but Ronel Blanco was no joke, as the Toronto Blue Jays quickly found out on Monday night.

Blanco, who had only made a handful of starts and never pitched more than six innings in a major-league game, tossed the eighth no-hitter against the Blue Jays in Toronto’s franchise history — and the second in as many seasons after three Tigers pitchers no-hit the Jays in 2023 — surrendering only a pair of walks to George Springer in a remarkable performance.

Article content

Multiple home runs were launched in Space City off Jays starter Bowden Francis, while Blue Jays batters were not cleared for liftoff. The proud Houston Astros took out some pent-up aggression on the overmatched Blue Jays in more ways than one, with the Houston offence going off for five home runs in the 10-0 win.

Article content

In only his eighth career MLB start, the 30-year-old Blanco set down every Jay in order after walking Springer off the bat until he walked him again with two outs in the ninth. That led to a matchup of Dominican players with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounding out to complete the feat for Blanco, one of the more unlikely pitchers to hurl such a gem.

Blanco — part of the rotation with veterans Justin Verlander and Jose Urquidy on the injured list — made seven starts in 17 appearances for Houston last season, going 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA, but has made his mark in the minors (41-23 record, 3.54 ERA) and in the Dominican Winter League, where he has dominated.

Houston started the season with four straight home losses against the rival New York Yankees, blowing some of those games late, but came in firing on all cylinders. Houston pounced on Francis, making his first career start, early for three home runs in the first two innings. Kyle Tucker hit a two-run, first-inning homer and Yainer Diaz hit a moonshot in that inning, while Jeremy Pena had a solo home run in the second.

Article content

Article content

Meanwhile, Blanco used a change-up masterfully, keeping the Jays completely off-balance.

Houston has been the class of baseball for nearly a decade now, making the World Series four times since 2017 with wins in 2017 and 2022 and an ALCS loss to eventual champion Texas last season. The Astros are expected to be in the mix again this year, which is why the first four games were so surprising and why the team looked much more like the juggernauts they have been on Monday.

The Astros added another run in the bottom of the fourth off a double and a single and two more off three straight hits to chase Francis in the sixth. Genesis Cabrera didn’t fare much better, giving up a two-run blast to Tucker in the seventh that was clobbered. Cabrera then gave up a Diaz homer, his second of the game, and that was it for him.

Article content

The Jays turned to infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa to pitch the eighth.

The Blue Jays were no-hit seven times prior to Monday, most recently last July 8 by the Detroit Tigers, who became the first team to use multiple pitchers to combine for a no-no against the Jays. Houston starter Justin Verlander no-hit Toronto twice, including as an Astro in 2019 in Toronto.

Len Barker (1981), Dave Stewart (1990), Nolan Ryan (1991) and Canadian James Paxton (2018) were the others to no-hit the Jays.

The Jays played again without all-star shortstop Bo Bichette, but Bichette could return to the lineup on Tuesday.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Manager John Schneider told reporters in Houston that while Bichette still had a sore neck, he was feeling a lot better than he did the previous day.

Schneider also said relievers Jordan Romano and Erik Swanson continue to progress. Romano will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday, while Swanson had one on Monday that went well. Starter Alek Manoah will pitch a three-inning simulated game with minor-leaguers and Danny Jansen will catch Manoah on Tuesday.

Toronto was coming off a four-game split in Tampa Bay and will continue this 10-game road trip to open the season on Tuesday with Jose Berrios facing Houston’s Framber Valdez.

X: @WolstatSun

Article content