CINCINNATI (AP) — George Springer went 3 for 4 with two home runs and three RBIs, Bo Bichette hit a three-run homer, and the Toronto Blue Jays held on for a 12-9 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.
The Blue Jays have 23 blown saves this season including Monday's 5-4 loss in the series opener, but Jeff Hoffman allowed one hit in the ninth for his 30th save.
Louis Varland (4-3) allowed one hit in 1 2/3 innings of relief.
Reds' scheduled starter Nick Lodolo was scratched due to illness, so Scott Barlow (6-3) was called upon to make his first career start. Things didn't go well for the 32-year-old right-hander.
Springer led off with his 25th homer of the season. Barlow then walked three straight batters to load the bases and Alejandro Kirk's bases-clearing double made the score 4-0.
Brent Suter replaced Barlow in the second inning and didn't fare any better. Bichette's three-run homer, his 18th of the season, made the score 8-1.
Springer's second home run, a two-run shot off Suter, made the score 10-6 in the fourth. It was his 29th multihomer game, second this season.
Daulton Varsho's solo homer, his second in as many nights, came off Connor Phillips in the seventh to make the score 11-8.
TJ Friedl’s solo homer off Seranthony Domínguez in the eighth made the score 11-9.
After a throwing error by Blue Jays’ third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa prevented the final out in the third, Austin Hays’ three-run homer into the second deck of the left field bleachers cut the Reds’ deficit to 8-6.
Springer now has 62 career leadoff homers, including a franchise-best 23 for the Blue Jays. He ranks second in major league history behind Rickey Henderson who had 81 leadoff homers.
Blue Jays RHP Shane Bieber (1-1, 2.38 ERA) and Reds RHP Zack Littell (9-8, 3.63) will start the series finale on Wednesday.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Cincinnati Reds' Austin Hays rounds third base after hitting a three-run home run in the second inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)
Toronto Blue Jays' George Springer hits a single in the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)
Toronto Blue Jays' Bo Bichette, far right, is congratulated by George Springer, center, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) after hitting a three-run home run in the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)
AL HENAKIYAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Ricky Brabec deliberately gave up his motorbike lead over Luciano Benavides in the Dakar Rally while Nasser Al-Attiyah was happy to cruise through another day closer to his sixth car title on Thursday.
Al-Attiyah started 346-kilometer stage 11 between Bisha north to Al Henakiyah with a 12-minute overall lead and let it drop to less than nine minutes over new second-placed driver Nani Roma in a Ford.
Al-Attiyah was content to let Dacia teammate Sébastien Loeb catch up and pass him to have a teammate nearby for any help and to minimize errors on the mazy, dirt track. Al-Attiyah was 17th, nearly 13 minutes behind stage winner Mattias Ekström, and said he needed to execute the same plan on Friday's last effective racing stage before the end on Saturday.
“If we lose two, three, four minutes no problem,” Al-Attiyah said. “We just need to finish this Dakar in first place.”
Honda cooked up a strategy in the Saudi desert for Adrien van Beveren to open the way and let Brabec catch up after the 190-kilometer pit stop and pick up time bonuses.
Brabec boosted his overall lead from 56 seconds to nearly four minutes just 25 kilometers from the finish. He was also within a minute of the stage lead but he slowed down so KTM rival Benavides was the new overall leader, but only by 23 seconds.
Brabec got his his wish to start Friday's stage 12 six minutes behind Benavides, so he can eye him. They head west to the rally starting point of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast on 311 kilometers of gravel, some river beds with a finish in the dunes.
“A little bit of strategy today and hopefully it pays off tomorrow,” Brabec said. "I feel like its going to be a good day. We’re going back into the rocks so it will be a little bit better for us.”
Brabec is counting on his experience of winning the Dakar in 2020 and 2024 to trump Benavides, who has a best placing of fourth last year.
“I've been in this situation before,” Brabec said. “For the whole two weeks I've been just trying to stay relax, stay comfortable and just be confident, so two days more. I'm gonna do the same thing tomorrow that I've been doing every day; ride dirt bikes and have fun.”
Van Beveren helped Brabec with navigation while fighting with another teammate, Skyler Howes, the entire day for the stage win.
Howes prevailed by 21 seconds for his first career major stage in his eighth Dakar. He was third in 2023 and sixth last year. He's running fifth, 34 minutes off the pace.
Benavides was fourth in the stage and believed the race will be decided on the final 105-kilometer sprint on Saturday.
“I played no strategy like Ricky. I don't care,” Benavides said. “I'm doing what I can to control what I can control.”
Ekström won his third car stage of this Dakar, a special so fast that 12 other drivers were within 10 minutes.
Ford achieved another 1-2-3 stage. Romain Dumas, a three-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, was a career-best second just over a minute back and Carlos Sainz was third.
Only Toyota's Henk Lategan beat Ekström to a checkpoint but Lategan's podium hopes were wrecked after 140 kilometers when a bearing broke on his rear left wheel. Lategan was second last year and second overall overnight but he plunged out of the top 15, at least.
Loeb moved up to third overall, 10 minutes behind Roma and three minutes ahead of Ekström.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Rider Daniel Sanders competes during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Fabian Lurquin compete during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Rider Skyler Howes competes during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Henk Lategan, left, and co-driver Brett Cummings repair their car during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Nani Roma and co-driver Alex Haro compete during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
