Max Scherzer pitched six effective innings in the 41-year-old’s season debut Tuesday night and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Colorado Rockies 5-1.
Scherzer (1-0) allowed one run, four hits and one walk while striking out four in six innings.
Jesus Sanchez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Nathan Lukes each had two hits and an RBI to help Toronto split the opening two games of the three-game series. It was the fourth win in five games for Toronto, while Colorado has dropped four of five.
Hunter Goodman hit a solo home run for the Rockies. TJ Rumfield added three hits.
Colorado starter Ryan Feltner retired his first eight batters before Andres Gimenez lined an infield single off his right hip with two outs in the third. Feltner finished the inning with a walk and groundout but did not return for the fourth because of a contusion in the hip area.
He allowed no runs, one hit and one walk with four strikeouts in three innings.
Juan Mejia (0-1) replaced Feltner in the fourth. Mejia survived two singles with the help of a double play when he doubled up Lukes at first base after snaring Ernie Clement’s line drive.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out in the fifth on Daulton Varsho’s infield hit, Tyler Heineman’s single and George Springer’s walk. Jaden Hill replaced Mejia and allowed Sanchez to hit an RBI single to center. Guerrero walked to force in a second run before Hill finished the inning with two strikeouts.
Colorado cut the lead to 2-1 with one out in the sixth when Goodman tagged a 1-0 rolling curveball 435 feet for a mammoth homer to left-center.
Mason Fluharty took over in the seventh, and Rumfield singled and advanced on a passed ball. Braydon Fisher took over with two away and picked Rumfield off second.
Toronto scored three runs against Zach Agnos in the bottom of the seventh. Sanchez and Guerrero started the rally with one-out singles. Kazuma Okamoto and Lukes had RBI singles and Clement added an RBI double high off the left field wall.
Fisher worked around a double in the eighth and Agnos survived a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the inning.
