TORONTO (AP) — JJ Bleday hit a solo home run, Héctor Rodríguez added a two-run triple and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday.
Rhett Lowder (7-12) allowed three hits in six scoreless innings to win for the first time since August 28, stopping a four-start losing streak.
Click to Gallery
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) throws to a Cincinnati Reds batter during first inning MLB baseball action in Toronto on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays' Brett Bateman (21) dives safely into second base ahead of a tag by Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain (9) during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Spencer Miles (62) throws to first base after fielding a bunt off the bat of Cincinnati Reds' Carlos Jorge, who was safe, during the third inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Cincinnati Reds' Carlos Jorge (38) takes a lead off first base against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Rhett Lowder (25) throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Cincinnati improved to 29-18 against AL opponents. The Reds were 46-68 vs. the NL.
Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and was booed by some in the sellout crowd of 42,482. Guerrero, who has slumped this season while playing with injuries, apologized Friday for comments that this $500 million, 14-year contract was for past accomplishments.
Blue Jays right-hander Trey Yesavage (5-6) allowed one run and two hits in two innings. The 23-year-old rookie right-hander returned last Monday after missing 42 games because of left knee surgery and finished with a 3.69 ERA in 20 starts, striking out 97 in 97 2/3 innings.
Bleday led off the second inning with his 24th home run, a 413-foot drive to center.
Cincinnati boosted the lead to 3-0 the third against Spencer Miles on shortstop Andrés Giménez's fielding error and Eugenio Suárez's RBI double. Rodríguez tripled with two outs in the fifth off John Klein.
Giménez hit a run-scoring groundout in the seventh against Connor Phillips.
Blue Jays RHP Max Scherzer (3-9, 6.14 ERA) is expected to start Sunday’s season finale against Reds LHP Brandon Williamson (5-4, 4.89). Scherzer said he will decide during the offseason whether to retire.
__
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) throws to a Cincinnati Reds batter during first inning MLB baseball action in Toronto on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays' Brett Bateman (21) dives safely into second base ahead of a tag by Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain (9) during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Spencer Miles (62) throws to first base after fielding a bunt off the bat of Cincinnati Reds' Carlos Jorge, who was safe, during the third inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Cincinnati Reds' Carlos Jorge (38) takes a lead off first base against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Rhett Lowder (25) throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
MADRID (AP) — Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid on Saturday to protest against Spain's housing crisis and ask for protective measures for tenants, anti-fraud rules, and a ban on evictions without alternative housing.
The protest came in reaction to the dramatic eviction on Wednesday of an 87-year-old woman from the Madrid apartment she had lived in for decades.
“We’re here because housing is a problem that already affects all of society, all ages and classes,” said protester Dora Garcia, a 55-year-old nurse. “And we can’t keep maintaining this. Housing is a right and we don’t have it.”
Taken out of her home on a stretcher in the upscale Retiro neighborhood, María del Carmen Abascal was greeted by protesters and supporters as she was loaded into an ambulance.
Spanish media reported that Abascal’s father first rented the property in 1956 and she continued as the tenant after her parents died, during which time there was a rent cap.
The building changed ownership in 2018, and Abascal was offered the opportunity to buy the apartment but could not afford it, according to the Madrid Tenants’ Union, which organized Saturday's protest.
Urbagestión, an investment fund that later bought the unit, raised her monthly rent from 500 euros ($570) to 2,650 euros. It subsequently lowered the rent to 1,650 euros, which Abascal still could not afford on her pension, the union said.
Courts blocked three previous attempts to evict her. Extensive media coverage turned Abascal into a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis.
“This whole housing situation is heartbreaking. Maricarmen has been, in a way, the last straw that sparked this social unrest, but we’ve been dealing with this whole issue for a long time now,” said protester Simón de la Riva, 43, a teacher. “It’s unacceptable that vulture funds are buying up homes, that people can’t afford to live, that entire families are being evicted, and that an elderly woman has been evicted.”
At the end of the march, protesters sat down in the Puerta del Sol plaza with apparent plans to stay put. Some even pitched tents to stay at least the night — or until police forcibly removed them.
Rising costs and a housing shortage are pricing many Spaniards out of the market, despite strong economic growth in Europe’s fourth-largest economy. Incomes have not kept pace. Analysts say tourism and immigration-driven population growth in cities have placed further pressure on the limited housing supply.
The Bank of Spain estimated that the country had a shortage of about 550,000 homes last year, with Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia accounting for a substantial share.
Spain ranks near the bottom of countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for public rental housing, which represents less than 2% of its available supply. The European Union average is 8%.
Spain previously built homes with public funds that were later sold into private ownership, removing them from the public housing stock.
“I haven’t managed to defend my home, but I have fought so that others can learn to fight for what’s theirs,” Abascal said in a video shared on Friday by the tenants’ union. The video was recorded from her hospital bed after the eviction.
Associated Press writer Giada Zampano contributed from Rome.
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
