Adrian Houser pounded early as Blue Jays beat Brewers 9-4 

Alejandro Kirk didn't even need to play a full game to continue cementing his status as one of baseball's best hitting catchers.

Kirk went 4 for 4 and homered for the third straight game before leaving with a bruised left hand in the seventh inning of the Toronto Blue Jays’ 9-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.

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He appeared to get hit in the hand on a backswing from Jonathan Davis in the seventh. The 23-year-old Kirk remained in the game for the rest of that at-bat before leaving at the same time the Blue Jays made a pitching change.

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Kirk's big night represented the latest chapter in his breakthrough season. He is hitting .321 with nine homers, 28 RBIs, a .406 on-base percentage and .913 OPS.

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Alek Manoah (9-2) pitched 6 2/3 strong innings, Cavan Biggio homered and Matt Chapman delivered a bases-loaded double as Toronto won the first meeting between the teams since 2017.

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Milwaukee’s Tyrone Taylor homered for the second consecutive game and Christian Yelich drove in two runs.

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Manoah struck out six and allowed five hits, three walks and two runs to bounce back after giving up a season-high four runs in a 4-0 loss to the New York Yankees on Saturday.

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Manoah has pitched so well this season that Friday’s performance actually caused his ERA to rise to 2.05. The Blue Jays are 26-8 in Manoah’s 34 career starts.

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Toronto grabbed an early 5-0 lead by opening the second inning with six straight hits against Adrian Houser (4-8).

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The Blue Jays extended their lead to 8-1 by scoring three in the seventh off Trevor Kelley, who allowed Biggio's solo shot and Kirk's two-run blast.

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