The Associated Press The Pirates’ Oneil Cruz (15) celebrates his home run with teammate Endy Rodriguez on Sunday.

TORONTO — Esmerlyn Valdez homered for his first career hit, Spencer Horwitz and Oneil Cruz also connected and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Valdez was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday and had gone 0 for 7 before hitting a two-run homer off Chase Lee in the sixth inning.

“When I came into the dugout, I’m like, ‘Come on guys, what’s happening?”’ Valdez said of getting the silent treatment. “Then when they came close to me and gave me the hugs and all that, it felt really good.”

Pirates reliever Dennis Santana brokered a trade with a young fan for the ball, handing over a bat signed by Valdez and a Pirates cap in exchange for Valdez’s keepsake.

“It’s such a special moment for (Valdez),” Pirates reliever Justin Lawrence said. “I don’t know how often a guy gets his first home run ball back, so just having an opportunity to be able to get it for him was awesome.”

Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease exited after 4ª innings because of a sore left hamstring.

Cease (3-3) allowed two runs and four hits before departing. He walked one and struck out eight.

Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left in the bottom of the fifth after being hit on the inside of his right elbow by a pitch from Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller. Lenyn Sosa came in to run for Guerrero and took over at first base.

The Blue Jays said an X-ray of Guerrero’s elbow did not reveal a fracture.

Keller (5-2) allowed one run and four hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out five.

Gregory Soto finished in the ninth for his fifth save in seven chances, striking out Daulton Varsho for the final out and stranding two runners.

Horwitz homered on Cease’s first pitch of the game, his fifth of the season. Cruz hit a leadoff blast in the second, his 11th of the year.

Infielder Ernie Clement drove in Toronto’s only run with an RBI single in the fourth.

Saturday’s game

George Springer hit his 65th leadoff home run and the Blue Jays sent Paul Skenes to losses in consecutive starts for the first time this season, beating the Pirates 5-2 Saturday.

Skenes (6-4), the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, allowed four runs and a career-high nine hits and one walk in five-plus innings with two strikeouts, just his second time with fewer than five this season. His ERA rose to 3.00.

Skenes left after giving up four straight hits in the sixth. In his previous outing, against Philadelphia on May 17, Skenes tied his big league high by giving up five runs .

Tyler Heineman also homered for the defending AL champions, his first since last July 19.

Patrick Corbin (2-1) allowed one run and five hits in six innings with a season-high seven strikeouts. Jeff Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth for his fifth save in eight chances.

Pirates pitching coach Bill Murphy and manager Don Kelly were ejected in separate incidents in the sixth. Murphy was tossed after plate umpire Alan Porter initially missed a challenge request from catcher Henry Davis, while Kelly was tossed for arguing a checked swing call.

Springer homered on Skenes’ third pitch of the game, snapping the right-hander’s 15-inning road scoreless streak. Springer has five homers this season and is second in leadoff homers by 81 by Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson.

Marcell Ozuna’s two-out RBI double tied the score in the sixth, and the Blue Jays took a 4-1 lead in the bottom half on Jesús Sánchez’s run-scoring double, Clement’s RBI single and a run-scoring, double-play grounder by Andrés Giménez.

Up next

Pirates: RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (4-3, 3.96 ERA) is scheduled to start against the Cubs today. Chicago is expected to throw RHP Ben Brown (1-2, 2.09 ERA).