Houston first baseman Yuli Gurriel continued his early season tear on Friday, notching a four-hit game to pace the Astros to a 10-4 victory over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.

Gurriel entered the three-game series leading the Astros in hits (35), RBIs (20), walks (16) and on-base percentage (.405).

"He worked hard over the winter," Astros manager Dusty Baker said of Gurriel. "That's the Yuli I heard about. He might hit the ball anywhere, and that's how you hit."

Gurriel notched his fifth game with at least three hits this season after failing to record a three-hit game in 2020.



Right-hander Cristian Javier (3-0, 1.75 ERA) gets the starting nod for the Astros on Saturday. He allowed a three-run home run to Austin Meadows in his most recent outing, against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 2, snapping his stretch of 21 consecutive scoreless innings. He has been lights out and I like him to take care of the BJays bats.

Left-hander Steven Matz (4-2, 4.78 ERA) will start for the Blue Jays. He is coming off his second consecutive losing decision and the Houston bats should get to him tonight.