Gerrit Cole recorded his eighth double-digit strikeout performance of the season, and rookie Yordan Alvarez posted his third home run in four games as the host Houston Astros pounded the Toronto Blue Jays 15-2 on Friday.

Alvarez homered with two outs in the fourth inning, his two-run blast extending the Houston lead to 10-0. Alvarez continues to flash prodigious power, with his 425-foot shot off Blue Jays reliever Sam Gaviglio registering an exit velocity of 108.7 mph.

The Astros scored multiple runs in each of the first four innings, tagging Toronto's Aaron Sanchez (3-8) for eight runs on six hits and three walks over three innings.

Alex Bregman slugged the first of the Astros' four home runs, golfing a three-run dinger into the Crawford Boxes in left field that doubled the Houston lead to 6-0 with no outs in the second. With two outs in the third, Tony Kemp hit the first pitch of his second at-bat into the right field seats for an 8-0 lead.

Robinson Chirinos added his first career grand slam in the Astros' five-run eighth.

Alvarez went 3-for-4 with three RBIs for the Astros, who have won eight consecutive home series openers. Houston did lose center fielder Jake Marisnick to left knee discomfort in the sixth inning.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was hit by a pitch in the first inning, and he departed in the second with a left hand contusion. Subsequent X-rays were negative.

It wasn't until the fifth that the Blue Jays broke through against Cole, with rookie second baseman Cavan Biggio delivering a two-run double in the third at-bat of his homecoming. Biggio is the son of Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, who was in attendance with family and friends.

Cole (6-5) finished with 10 strikeouts against two walks in six innings. He allowed three hits and two runs. Right-hander Rogelio Armenteros followed by making his major league debut, and he fired three scoreless innings for a save. Armenteros gave up two hits and no walks, and he fanned three.

--Field Level Media