Astros cruise past the Blue Jays 5-1 behind 3 hits apiece from Jeremy Peña and Christian Walker

HOUSTON (AP) — Jeremy Peña and Christian Walker each had three hits and an RBI, and the Houston Astros cruised to a 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.

The Blue Jays were held to two hits for the second straight game.

Houston took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Peña scored José Altuve on an infield single and Walker followed with a hit to score Yordan Alvarez. Peña scored on a sacrifice fly by Brendan Rodgers.

Toronto ace Chris Bassitt (2-1) settled in after the first, allowing four runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. Bassitt entered with the second-best ERA in the majors at 0.77, which was the second lowest for a Toronto pitcher’s first four starts of a season.

Nathan Lukes homered in the third for Toronto, which has lost four straight games.

Astros starter Ronel Blanco (2-2) allowed two hits and one run in 6 2/3 innings. Last year, Blanco threw a no-hitter against Toronto in his first start of the season on April 1.

Isaac Paredes homered for Houston in the seventh to cap the scoring.

Houston has won four of its last five.

Houston’s first two hits were infield singles, but Walker’s RBI single to center field scored a run and put Alvarez in position for a sacrifice fly to follow.

Walker went 3 for 3 following a rest day on Monday. The Astros newcomer entered Tuesday hitting .156 and was mired in a 3-for-26 slump in his previous eight games.

Blue Jays RHP Bowden Francis (2-2, 3.13 ERA) will face Astros RHP Ryan Gusto (2-1, 3.18 ERA) in the series finale on Wednesday night.

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Houston Astros relief pitcher Bryan King throws against the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Houston Astros' Isaac Paredes, center, collects high fives in the dugout after his solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Houston Astros' Isaac Paredes, center, waves his hand in front of his face as he rounds the bases on his solo home run as Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yariel Rodríguez, right, walks off the mound during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Houston Astros' Jeremy Pena (3) is caught on a run down by Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, right, during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Brendon Little throws against the Houston Astros during the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena, right, juggles the catch as he crosses right fielder Cam Smith (11) on the fly ball by Toronto Blue Jays' Alan Roden during the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Toronto Blue Jays's Nathan Lukes, left, gets help putting on The Blue Jacket from Jose Berrios, right, after Lukes' solo home run against the Houston Astros during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Houston Astros' Brendan Rodgers, center, looks at his hand as he is escorted to first base by manager Joe Espada, left, and an unidentified trainer, right, after Rodgers was hit by a pitch from Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Houston Astros' Yainer Diaz reacts at second base after his one-run RBI double against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Houston Astros' Jeremy Pena, left, and Isaac Paredes (15) celebrate the solo home run by Paredes against the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois landlord who murdered a 6-year-old Muslim boy and severely injured the boy’s mother in a vicious hate-crime attack days after the war in Gaza began was sentenced Friday to 53 years in prison.

Joseph Czuba, 73, was found guilty in February of murder, attempted murder and hate-crime charges in the death of Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen.

Czuba targeted them in October 2023 because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Evidence at trial included harrowing testimony from Shaheen and her frantic 911 call, along with bloody crime scene photos and police video. Jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes before handing in a verdict.

The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in Plainfield, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Chicago when the attack happened.

Central to prosecutors' case was harrowing testimony from the boy’s mother, who said Czuba attacked her before moving on to her son, insisting they had to leave because they were Muslim. Prosecutors also played the 911 call and showed police footage. Czuba's wife, Mary, whom he has since divorced, also testified for the prosecution, saying he had become agitated about the Israel-Hamas war, which had erupted days earlier.

Police said Czuba pulled a knife from a holder on a belt and stabbed the boy 26 times, leaving the knife in the child's body. Some of the bloody crime scene photos were so explicit that the judge agreed to turn television screens showing them away from the audience, which included Wadee's relatives.

“He could not escape,” Michael Fitzgerald, a Will County assistant state’s attorney, told jurors at trial. “If it wasn’t enough that this defendant killed that little boy, he left the knife in the little boy’s body.”

The jury deliberated for 90 minutes before returning a verdict. Czuba is eligible for a minimum prison sentence of 20 to 60 years or life, according to the Will County state's attorney's office.

Prosecutors declined to comment ahead of Friday's hearing and have not said what sentence they will seek. Illinois does not have the death penalty.

The attack renewed fears of anti-Muslim discrimination and hit particularly hard in Plainfield and surrounding suburbs, which have a large and established Palestinian community. Wadee's funeral drew large crowds and Plainfield officials have dedicated a park playground in his honor.

Czuba did not speak during the trial. His defense attorneys argued that there were holes in the case. His public defender, George Lenard, has not addressed reporters and declined comment ahead of the sentencing.

Shaheen had more than a dozen stab wounds and it took her weeks to recover.

She said there were no prior issues in the two years she rented from the Czubas, even sharing a kitchen and a living room.

Then after the start of the war, Czuba told her that they had to move out because Muslims were not welcome. He later confronted Shaheen and attacked her, holding her down, stabbing her and trying to break her teeth.

“He told me ‘You, as a Muslim, must die,’” said Shaheen, who testified in English and Arabic though a translator.

Police testified that officers found Czuba outside the house, sitting on the ground with blood on his body and hands.

Separately, lawsuits have been filed over the boy’s death, including by his father, Odai Alfayoumi, who is divorced from Shaheen and was not living with them. The U.S. Department of Justice also launched a federal hate crimes investigation.

FILE - Wadee Alfayoumi's father, Oday Al Fayoume, seated right, and his uncle Mahmoud Yousef attend a vigil for Wadee at Prairie Activity and Recreation center in Plainfield, Ill., Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

FILE - Joseph Czuba, 71, stands before Circuit Judge Dave Carlson for his arraignment at the Will County, Ill., courthouse, Oct. 30, 2023, in Joliet, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)