Kazuma Okamoto homers and Blue Jays' bullpen shuts the door in 4-2 victory over Astros

TORONTO (AP) — Pinch-hitter Myles Straw drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning with one of Toronto's three sacrifice flies, and Kazuma Okamoto homered to help the Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Monday night.

Louis Varland issued a leadoff walk to Yainer Diaz in the ninth, but Joey Loperfido grounded into a double play two pitches later. Varland then struck out pinch-hitter Taylor Trammell to secure his 16th save.

Toronto (39-39) got back to .500 for the first time since May 29 at the start of a 10-game homestand, the team’s longest this season.

Jeremy Peña singled on the first pitch from Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease and scored on a one-out single by Isaac Paredes to put the Astros up 1-0 in the first. Cease loaded the bases before getting a double-play grounder from Diaz to limit the damage in a 26-pitch inning.

Peña left in the sixth after aggravating a previous hamstring injury on a swing.

Cease allowed two runs and three hits with four walks in 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out eight and retired 14 in a row before issuing one-out walks to Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker in the sixth. Paredes lined out to left field, but Jose Altuve tied it at 2 with a two-strike single on Cease’s 110th and final pitch.

Braydon Fisher (3-2) entered and retired Diaz on a comebacker. Fisher got four outs on six pitches to earn the win.

Okamoto tied it 1-all when he led off the second against Hunter Brown with his 17th homer. Brown left after three innings and 85 pitches in his fourth start this season and second since coming off the injured list.

Enyel De Los Santos (0-2) gave up Daulton Varsho's infield single and Okamoto's double with one out in the seventh before Straw lofted his sacrifice fly against Bryan King.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in Andrés Giménez with a sac fly in the fourth to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead. Alejandro Kirk's sac fly in the eighth scored George Springer to make it 4-2.

Brice Matthews and Alvarez singled off Tyler Rogers in the eighth before Walker grounded into a double play. Rogers walked Paredes but retired Altuve to keep it 3-2.

Astros RHP Peter Lambert (6-4, 3.23 ERA) starts Tuesday opposite Blue Jays RHP Shane Bieber, making his first start this season.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve fouls off a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, in Toronto, Monday, June 22, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Houston Astros pitcher Hunter Brown throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Monday, June 22, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease throws to a Houston Astros batter during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Monday, June 22, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Myles Straw, left, douses teammate catcher Alejandro Kirk with a sports drink to celebrate their team's victory over the Houston Astros in a baseball game in Toronto, Monday, June 22, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto hits a double against the Houston Astros during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Monday, June 22, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Two students armed with hand guns opened fire in a high school in the central Philippines on Monday, killing three fellow students and wounding at least 20 others, police said.

The suspects, aged 14 and 15, were arrested. The suspects and the victims were students of the San Jose National High School in Tacloban city, where the mid-morning shooting happened, regional police chief Brig. Gen. Jason Capoy said.

Police said 15 of the 20 injuries were caused by gunshots, including a student who was hit in the head and remained in a hospital. The rest were injured as they stumbled and jumped out of a window as they dashed to safety.

An investigation was underway to determine the cause of the shooting in the government-run school, which has more than 1,500 students. Capoy said that the suspects, who were close friends, said in initial questioning that they were bullied in school. He did not elaborate.

They have no criminal records. One of the suspects got the 9 mm pistol he used in the attack from an aunt, a police officer, who was being investigated. The other suspect used a .38 caliber revolver. They managed to bring the guns onto the campus because there was only one guard on duty at multiple entrances and exits, Capoy said.

“The suspects barged into two rooms because after the shooting in the first, the children scampered and the suspects apparently ran after some victims into another room,” Capoy told reporters.

Most of the dead and wounded were female students, he said. Police recovered at least 40 shell casings at the scene of the attack.

In a video posted online, students hiding under desks in a shut classroom can be heard screaming and weeping as gunshots are heard outside. Some called their mothers. Other videos show visibly terrified students streaming out of the school campus, some holding and embracing each other.

One of the suspects was arrested in the school after the attack but the second fled and hid in a house nearby. He was found by police who were alerted by residents, police said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a thorough investigation of the shooting and asked law enforcers to boost security in all schools, workplaces and public areas, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said.

“The president was saddened by this incident. Anybody, especially the parents of the victims, will feel sad and terrified,” Castro said.

The suspects were to be turned over to government welfare officers after the investigation since they are minors. The 14-year-old would be exempt from criminal prosecution under a 2006 Philippine law, which sets the minimum age of 15 for a minor to be criminally liable and only if authorities determine that a suspect was clearly aware of the crime that was committed and its repercussions.

The national police have urged the public to remain calm and cooperate with authorities by providing any information that may aid the ongoing investigation.

Crimes involving the use of firearms are prevalent in the Philippines, partly due to the proliferation of unlicensed firearms, but school shootings are relatively rare.

In 2022, a man armed with pistols opened fire at an upscale university in the Manila metropolitan area ahead of a graduation ceremony, killing a former Philippine town mayor with whom the suspect had a long-running feud, and two others in the brazen attack. The gunman was arrested.

Journalists and residents stand outside the San Jose National High School a day after a shooting incident inside the school in Tacloban city, central Philippines on Monday June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Panfilo Vallejera)

In this photo provided by the Tacloban City Police Office, police stand outside the San Jose National High School after the area was cordoned off following a shooting incident inside the school, in Tacloban city, central Philippines, Monday June 22, 2026. (Tacloban City Police Office via AP)

In this photo taken from a video, students react after a shooting incident at the San Jose National High School in Tacloban city, Philippines Monday, June 22, 2026. (James Daantos via AP Photo)

In this photo taken from a video, students react after a shooting incident at the San Jose National High School in Tacloban city, Philippines Monday, June 22, 2026. (James Daantos via AP Photo)