Bichette's longball propels surging Blue Jays past Angels for season-high 8th straight win

Bo Bichette homered and scored the deciding run as the Toronto Blue Jays continued their winning ways with a 3-2 win against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

Davis Schneider knocked in Bichette in the sixth inning with a single down the left-field line for a series sweep and Toronto's (52-38) season-high eighth win in a row before 40,114 at Rogers Centre.

Mike Trout smacked a solo shot for his 14th homer of the year for the Angels (43-46) with two out in the opening inning.

The American League East-leading Blue Jays drew even with Bichette's leadoff long ball in the fourth inning. His 12th made up for his error in the top of the inning that loaded the bases for the Angels.

WATCH | Jays fans ignited as team rockets up AL East standings:

Toronto Blue Jays soar to top of division, fuelling fan excitement

7 days ago

Duration 1:59

The Toronto Blue Jays have climbed to first place in their division, surprising fans and critics alike. With strong performances across the roster, Canada’s only MLB team is chasing its best season in decades.

Toronto went ahead later in the fourth on a two-out single from Joey Loperfido, who made his season debut.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman struck out nine in his 107 pitches in 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and three walks.

Tyler Anderson (2-6) yielded three runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts in five-plus innings.

Reliever Ryan Burr (1-0) notched the win in his first outing of the season after dealing a right-shoulder injury. Jeff Hoffman picked up his 22nd save.

Kirk named to 2nd all-star game

Alejandro Kirk will be joining Toronto Blue Jays teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at Major League Baseball's all-star game.

Kirk was named to his second all-star team on Sunday.

This year's all-star game will be held on July 15 at Truist Park in Atlanta.

The Blue Jays catcher is batting .301 with seven homers and 41 runs batted in this season.

Kirk's average is 11th in Major League Baseball and second among catchers behind Will Smith (.332) of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

His first all-star appearance was in 2022 when he finished the season with a .285 average and 14 homers.

The 26-year-old Kirk has a .270 career average with a total of 43 homers over six seasons, all with Toronto.