Barger drives in winning run in 11th, Blue Jays top Angels 4-3 for seventh straight win

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (31) works against Los Angeles Angels during second inning MLB baseball action in Toronto, Saturday, July 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — Addison Barger's hard-hit single into right field gave the Toronto Blue Jays a walk-off 4-3 win in 11 innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday.

Barger's two-out smash off reliever Ryan Zeferjahn (5-3) with the bases loaded extended the American League East-leading Blue Jays' season-high win streak to seven games before 37,269 at Rogers Centre.

Braydon Fisher (3-0) registered the win for a strong 10th and 11th innings.

Lazaro Estrada, 26, made his Major League Baseball debut and pitched four effective innings for Toronto.

He gave up singles to Luis Rengifo and Nolan Schanuel in the seventh. Schanuel's two-out smash to right scored Rengifo for the tying run.

George Springer put the Blue Jays (51-38) in front 3-2 with a two-run, 413-foot shot to straightaway centre in the third inning. His team-leading 16th homer increased his RBI total to 21 in his last 13 outings.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. returned to the lineup as the designated hitter after taking Friday off to recover from a sore right foot after fouling off a pitch in the sixth inning on Thursday. He went 3 for 4 with three singles.

After the teams traded first-inning runs, the Angels (43-45) went up 2-1 in the top of the third with a Jo Adell sacrifice fly.

Max Scherzer made his third start since returning from a three-month layoff to nurse a thumb injury. Despite striking out the side with a 10-pitch second inning, he ran up his pitch count to 72 and departed after four innings.

Scherzer gave up two runs on five hits, three walks with four strikeouts.

His Angels counterpart Jack Kochanowicz lasted 5 1/3 innings, yielding three runs on six hits and two walks with a strikeout.

Takeaways

Angels: Kochanowicz hasn't won a start since May 16.

Blue Jays: Reliever Yimi Garcia was placed on the 15-day injured list with a sprained left ankle. Righty Robinson Pena was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to replace Garcia.

Key Moment

With runners on first and third and one out in the fourth, Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk caught Chad Stevens stealing second. Zach Neto then grounded out to end the inning and keep Toronto in front 3-2.

Key Stat

Toronto's last seven-game win streak was from July 15 to 26, 2022.

Up Next

Toronto's Kevin Gausman (6-6) faces Tyler Anderson (2-5) in the series finale on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2025.

Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press