By Canadian Press

Hernández hits 2 of 4 Blue Jays homers in 4-1 win at Nats

Jul 27, 2020 | 7:57 PM

WASHINGTON — Teoscar Hernández hit two of Toronto’s four solo homers off Aníbal Sánchez to account for all the Blue Jays’ scoring in a 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Monday night.

Rowdy Tellez and Danny Jansen also went deep for the Blue Jays, who were without two key players. Closer Ken Giles went on the injured list Monday, and shortstop Bo Bichette was scratched from the lineup about 15 minutes before the first pitch with a tight left hamstring.

Manager Charlie Montoyo’s team already had to deal with the inconvenience of not being allowed to host any 2020 games in Toronto. Indeed, the Blue Jays’ first two “home” games of this pandemic-altered season will be played in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday while they wait for Buffalo’s minor league park to be prepped for them.

Toronto improved to 2-2 and dropped the World Series champions to 1-3 by going deep — over and over again.

Washington kept getting hits, 11 in all, against Toronto starter Trent Thornton and six relievers. But other than Kurt Suzuki’s double that scored Eric Thames from first base in the fourth, Thornton’s last inning, the Nationals could not come through.

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They hit into four double plays. Three times, they stranded a man on third. They left a total of 10 runners on base.

Ryan Borucki (1-0) got four outs to earn the win, and Anthony Bass — filling in for Giles — got his first save of the year.

Moved up to the top of the order in place of Bichette, Hernández drove the second pitch of the evening from Sánchez (0-1) to right-centre for the third leadoff homer of this career.

Hernández hit the ball to the same part of the park to open the fifth inning, too, for the seventh multi-homer game of his career.

Tellez and Jansen homered in the fourth. Like Hernández, they didn’t have a home run this season until Monday.

CORONAVIRUS FEARS

Nationals manager Dave Martinez got a bit choked up speaking about the COVID-19 outbreak among the Miami Marlins. The 55-year-old Martinez was hospitalized last September for a heart procedure. “I’m going to be honest with you: I’m scared. I really am,” Martinez said. “So I go from (Nationals Park), home, back here every day. That’s all I do. I wash my hands — I went from 47 times a day to probably 99 times a day. Wear my mask everywhere I go. There’s that concern. Right now, you don’t know, because of my heart condition, what happens to me if I do get it.”

NATIONALS ADD HARRISON

Utility player Josh Harrison signed a one-year contract with the Nationals and was on the 30-man roster for Monday’s game. He can play the infield or outfield.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: Giles has a strained right forearm. … OF Randal Grichuk is day to day with back tightness. … Toronto activated RHP Wilmer Font from the IL, recalled Borucki from the taxi squad, added OF Billy McKinney to the taxi squad and placed INF Travis Shaw on family medical leave.

Nationals: OF Juan Soto passed one test for the coronavirus; a second negative result is needed before a player can return to the club. Soto went on the COVID-19 IL on opening day.

UP NEXT

Former Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark returns as a visiting player for the first time, starting for Toronto on Tuesday. “I know the mound like the back of my hand,” the right-hander said. “I’ll be ready to go.” He will go up against RHP Austin Voth. Roark played his first six big league seasons for the Nationals before getting traded in December 2018; he was with Cincinnati and Oakland last season.

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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press