Bautista hits HRs No. 17, 18 in Jays' win
Toronto Blue Jays' Jose Bautista hits a home run against the Houston Astros during the eighth inning of a baseball game. (May 21, 2011) Credit: AP
Jose Bautista hit two more homers, increasing his major league-leading total to 18, Yunel Escobar added a tiebreaking shot and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the visiting Houston Astros, 7-5, Saturday.
Baseball's reigning home run king had 54 last season, more than tripling his previous career high of 16. He's on pace to not just beat that mark this year, but smash it.
"It's always a surprise when you keep hitting home runs," Bautista said. "I'm not surprised about the RBIs or the fact that I'm playing well. Given what happened last year, knowing what I feel like I'm capable of doing, I expected to perform at a high level. I'm doing probably a little bit better than I expected."
Bautista hit a three-run drive to left off Brett Myers in the sixth and a solo shot to left against Jose Valdez in the eighth. It was his third multihomer game of the season and 14th of his career.
In the seventh, after Jose Molina tied it at 4 with a two-out single to center, Escobar hit a two-run drive to left, his fourth.
Myers (1-4) has not won since April 12, a span of seven starts. -- AP
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