TORONTO — Andruw Monasterio's solo shot in the sixth started a five-run inning as the Milwaukee Brewers routed the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 on Friday in a showdown between the American and National League leaders.
Isaac Collins's two-run double capped off the inning that saw Milwaukee (84-52) work through its entire batting order. Andrew Vaughn and Caleb Durbin each had an RBI single in the sixth.
Christian Yelich's ground out scored another run in the seventh and Vaughn had another RBI single in the next at bat.
Freddy Peralta (16-5) pitched six innings of one-hit ball, striking out eight with just one walk. Aaron Ashby, Shelby Miller and Abner Uribe preserved Peralta's win.
Davis Schneider hit a two-run single as Toronto (78-57) mounted a small comeback in the seventh.
Shane Bieber (1-1) gave up two runs on five hits, striking out six over 5 1/3 innings.
Relievers Brendon Little, Louis Varland and Justin Bruihl gave up a combined five runs over 1 2/3 innings. Tommy Nance and Yariel Rodriguez also came out of the bullpen.
Blue Jays' star centre-fielder Daulton Varsho dropped to the turf in obvious pain after he was hit on the hand by a 96.9 m.p.h. sinker from Ashby in the seventh. Myles Straw replaced him.
TAKEAWAYS
Brewers: Peralta outpitched Bieber in what promised to be a duel between two of the best starters in Major League Baseball. Toronto runners only got into scoring position twice with Peralta on the mound. Alejandro Kirk had a two-out double in the second — the only hit Peralta allowed — and George Springer was hit by a pitch to lead off the third before Addison Barger drew a walk.
Blue Jays: Bieber had a spectacular Toronto debut in a 5-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Aug. 27, striking out nine and allowing just one run on two hits over six innings. He picked up where he left off on Friday night, striking out the first three batters he faced. He only allowed three hits until Monasterio's homer in the sixth. His earned-run average grew to 2.38 in the loss.
KEY MOMENT
Little had an 86.7 m.p.h. knuckle curve outside the zone called a strike to go 1-2 against Vaughn with one out and two on in the sixth. Little's next two pitches were both knuckle curves in the dirt, forcing him to throw a 93.1 m.p.h. sinker in the zone that Vaughn connected on to score a run and prolong the inning.
KEY STAT
Since the All-Star break, Toronto's bullpen has a 5.60 earned-run average, second worst in the majors. Blue Jays relievers gave up five runs over 3 2/3 innings on Friday.
UP NEXT
Kevin Gausman (8-10) gets the start for Toronto in the second game of the series.
Quinn Priester (11-2) is scheduled to start for the Brewers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2025.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
