Opportunities squandered

Houston manages a decent amount of hits but can’t manufacture runs

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. admired his two-run home run all the way over the leftfield wall. Jose Urquidy watched, too, like a man who couldn’t look away from a car crash of his own making.

Guerrero jogged the bases and celebrated his league-leading 18th home run. Urquidy was pulled from the game with a less desirable record of his own, a careerhigh tying six runs surrendered.

Carlos Correa continued his hot streak with a three-hit game, but otherwise the Astros fell flat at Sahlen Field on Saturday in a 6-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

After three scoreless innings,

Urquidy withered on the mound. He lasted just 41⁄3 innings before Guerrero’s long shot ended his day. Although he pounded the zone with 50 strikes out of 74 pitches and struck out five batters with no walks, he surrendered nine hits (seven hard-hit) and two home runs.

At the same time, the Astros’ offense appeared sapped of energy one day after ringing the Blue Jays up for 13 runs Friday night. Saturday, the Astros mustered a decent nine hits but squandered one opportunity after another on the bases.

Jose Altuve led off the opening inning with a single down the left field line, but he was easily tagged out sliding into third base on Cor

rea’s broken-bat single. Two innings later, Myles Straw was thrown out at home plate after attempting to score from second base on an Altuve single, negating a run. Despite Correa motioning at him to slide, Straw stayed on his feet and appeared stunned when he was tagged out following a laser throw from Jays left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

The Astros finished 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

A scary moment interrupted the Astros’ two-out surge in the top of the fourth. Following singles by Yuli Gurriel and Kyle Tucker, Aledmys Díaz was hit by a pitch and departed with an injured left hand. With Chas McCormick in to pinch run for Díaz, Straw drew a bases loaded walk to put the Astros on the board, 1-0. Martín Maldonado could not repeat his grand slam heroics from Friday night and struck out to end the frame.

The Blue Jays tied the game in

the bottom of the inning with an RBI single by Gurriel, then took a 4-1 lead when Joe Panik crushed Urquidy’s 2-0 fastball over the right field wall for a three-run homer.

Guerrero’s home run in the fifth proved the final nail in the coffin, even though the Astros’ bullpen for once didn’t do more damage.

Enoli Paredes took over for Urquidy and was shaky but ultimately got through 12⁄3 scoreless innings. He threw 10 of his first 13 pitches for balls, prompting a Brent Strom mound visit, and struck out two batters while issuing two walks and one hit.

Joe Smith struck out one and allowed one hit in the seventh. Blake Taylor made his second relief appearance since being activated off the injured list May 31 and pitched a hitless eighth inning with one walk and two strikeouts.

The Astros added a single run in the ninth inning, but by then the flames had sputtered out and the game was already up in smoke.

Joshua Bessex / Associated Press Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire tags out the Astros’ Myles Straw at home on a throw from the Blue Jays’ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. during the third inning Saturday at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, N.Y.. The Astros’ Jose Altuve hit a single to start the play.

Kevin Hoffman / Getty Images The Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette tags out Altuve at third base during the first inning. Altuve finished 2 for 4 but didn’t score a run.

Joshua Bessex / Associated Press The Astros' Aledmys Díaz walks back to the dugout after being hit by a pitch on his left hand by Ross Stripling.