TORONTO — Rhett Lowder gave the Cincinnati Reds exactly what they needed Saturday afternoon, and the offense gave him more than enough support.
Lowder tossed six scoreless innings, allowing only three hits as Cincinnati defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-1, at Rogers Centre. The right-hander walked two, struck out two and threw 79 pitches, earning his seventh win of the season.
JJ Bleday put Cincinnati ahead in the second inning when he drove a Trey Yesavage pitch over the center-field wall for his 24th home run of the season.
The Reds added two more in the third after Matt McLain walked and Carlos Jorge reached on a bunt single. McLain and Jorge executed a double steal before McLain scored when Sal Stewart reached on a fielder’s choice and Toronto shortstop Andrés Giménez committed an error.
Eugenio Suárez followed with an RBI double to left, scoring Jorge and giving Cincinnati a 3-0 advantage. Lowder made sure the lead held.
Toronto put its first two hitters aboard in the opening inning, but Lowder struck out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before inducing Alejandro Kirk into an inning-ending double play. From there, the Blue Jays rarely threatened. Lowder retired Toronto in order in the fourth and sixth innings and did not allow another run-scoring opportunity to develop.
Cincinnati broke the game open in the fifth. Bleday walked with two outs before Tyler Stephenson reached on an error by first baseman Sean Keys. Héctor Rodríguez then drove a triple to center field, scoring both runners and extending the Reds’ lead to 5-0.
Rodríguez finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Bleday went 1-for-3 with the home run, two runs scored and a walk. Suárez added an RBI double, and Jorge reached three times with a single and two walks.
Toronto finally got on the board against Connor Phillips in the seventh. Kazuma Okamoto walked, Josh Smith doubled and Giménez brought Okamoto home with a groundout, cutting the lead to 5-1.
That was all the Blue Jays managed.
Graham Ashcraft worked around a leadoff single in a scoreless eighth, and Tejay Antone retired Toronto in order in the ninth, striking out Okamoto before getting Keys and Smith to finish the game.
Cincinnati finished with six hits but took advantage of six walks and two Toronto errors while receiving another strong performance from Lowder.
What’s Next: The Reds wrap up their series in Toronto — and the 2026 regular season — Sunday at 3:07 p.m. Brandon Williamson is scheduled to start for Cincinnati.
