Giants blank Blue Jays 3-0 in series opener

TORONTO – Four San Francisco pitchers combined on an eight-hit shutout as the Giants blanked the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre.

Opener Ryan Walker survived a nervous first inning and left-hander Alex Wood worked into the seventh for the Giants (45-34), who have won 13 of their last 15 games.

San Francisco scratched out a run in the fifth inning and added some insurance with a two-run double by Thairo Estrada in the ninth. Relievers Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval, with his 23rd save, finished things off in the opener of the three-game series.

Bo Bichette had three hits for Toronto (43-37). Starter Kevin Gausman (7-4) took the loss despite striking out 12 over six innings.

The Blue Jays starter set the early tone by striking out the side in the first inning. Walker put runners on the corners in the bottom half before issuing three strikeouts of his own.

Gausman received a standing ovation from the Rogers Centre crowd of 36,004 after striking out LaMonte Wade Jr. in the fourth inning. It was his 1,500th career strikeout.

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The 32-year-old hurler, who played for the Giants in 2020 and 2021, didn’t allow a runner until issuing a two-out walk to J.D. Davis later in the frame.

San Francisco registered its first hit in the fifth inning when Estrada hit a seeing-eye single. He stole second, moved to third base on a balk and scored on a Patrick Bailey double.

Toronto left-fielder Whit Merrifield made an over-the-shoulder catch on the warning track to deny Brandon Crawford of an RBI and extra bases. Gausman then fanned Luis Matos for his ninth strikeout of the game.

Bichette, who leads the American League in hits (109) and multi-hit games (31), led off the sixth inning with a single but was left stranded. Toronto left seven runners on base to four for San Francisco.

With his pitch count up to 106, Gausman was replaced by Nate Pearson in the seventh inning.

Wood (3-2), who allowed five hits and had seven strikeouts, was pulled in the bottom half after giving up a leadoff double to Daulton Varsho.

Right-fielder Michael Conforto had a read on the Varsho liner but bobbled the ball after trying to make a jumping catch on the warning track.

Merrifield moved Varsho to third with a grounder but Rogers, a soft-throwing submariner, fanned Danny Jansen and Cavan Biggio to keep the shutout intact.

Brandon Belt doubled in the eighth inning. It was his first game against his former team since signing with Toronto in the off-season. Belt won two World Series titles over his 12 seasons with San Francisco.

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Toronto reliever Erik Swanson gave up both runs in the ninth. The game took two hours 45 minutes to play.

SHELL GAME

Alek Manoah’s struggles continued Tuesday in his first start in the Florida Complex League since his demotion on June 6. Toronto’s Opening Day starter gave up 11 earned runs and 10 hits over 2 2/3 innings.

Manoah has been working out of the Blue Jays’ player development complex in Dunedin, Fla. There is no timeline for his potential return to the big leagues.

ZACH ALMOST BACK

Blue Jays reliever Zach Pop was scheduled to pitch for triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday against the Worcester Red Sox. Pop, from Brampton, Ont., has been on the injured list since May 5 with a right hamstring strain.

COMING UP

The Blue Jays were expected to go with a bullpen day on Wednesday against Giants right-hander Logan Webb (7-6, 3.16 earned-run average). It wasn’t immediately clear which Toronto reliever would get the start.

Toronto’s Chris Bassitt (7-5, 4.32) is tabbed for Thursday’s series finale. The Giants have yet to announce their starter for that game.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2023.

Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.

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