OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Vogt hit a home run and a sacrifice fly, treating his family to a big performance after they just arrived for the summer, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Monday night.
Ramón Laureano also went deep and Elvis Andrus had an early two-run double to back Cole Irvin’s gem for the A’s, who drew a season-high 24,403 fans on a Fourth of July fireworks night.
Some of them chanted “We believe in Stephen Vogt!” in a chorus reminiscent of cheers that became popular during the veteran catcher’s first stint with the club that included some unexpected playoff heroics.
Irvin retired his first 11 batters before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doubled in the fourth and Alejandro Kirk followed with a run-scoring single. A’s third baseman Vimael Machin then lunged to his right and snared a sharp grounder by Teoscar Hernández to prevent more damage.
Irvin (3-6) struck out four and didn’t walk a batter over a season-best eight innings to earn his first win in nine starts since returning from the injured list on May 22. He had been 0-5 during that stretch, with four straight losses.
Vogt did his part — again. In October 2013, he produced a game-winning hit in the playoffs for a 1-0 win against Justin Verlander and the Tigers that sent the best-of-five AL Division Series back to Detroit tied at 1.
Toronto right-hander Alek Manoah (9-3) was tagged for five runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He missed a chance to tie Verlander, now with Houston, and Tony Gonsolin of the Dodgers for the major league lead in wins.
CHAPPY’S BACK
Former A’s star Matt Chapman received a warm ovation when he came to the plate for the first time for Toronto.
Before the game, Chapman returned to Oakland with his new team
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