Pillar homers, Toronto wins again;
Pederson's Dodgers beat Nats

Blue Jays

Kevin Pillar hit one of four Blue Jay home runs Friday in a 5-3 win over the host Texas Rangers. His 5th-inning tomahawk shot off Yu Darvish expanded Toronto's lead to 3-1 and inspired praise from manager John Gibbons.

"Home runs are always a good thing," Gibbons said after the game. "Some good at-bats, some unlikely guys...Kev can hit his share. I know one thing about Pillar, he doesn't necessarily hit a lot of them, but he hits some big ones." 

As usual, the stellar outfielder made a sliding grab look easy with one out in the 8th inning and a Nat on second base.

Last year, too, Toronto and Texas faced off in an A.L. division playoff. Texas won the first three games, but the Blue Jays won the next three. Pillar hit .333 in that series, including a solo home run in Game 4.

Friday's win gave Toronto a 2-0 lead in the current five-game series. Game 3 takes place in Toronto at 7:30pm ET Sunday on TBS.

Dodgers

Joc Pederson's Los Angeles Dodgers beat the host Washington Nationals 4-3 in Game 1 of their N.L. division series on Friday.

Pederson went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Game 2 takes place in Washington at 4:00pm ET today on Fox Sports 1.