Astros at Blue Jays
The Houston Astros put on another offensive show in the series opener and the American League West leaders hope to continue the surge when they visit the struggling Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon. George Springer homered and knocked in four runs in Friday’s 7-4 victory as Houston won for the seventh time in eight games, a stretch in which it has accumulated 65 runs.
Alex Bregman extended his on-base streak to 23 games while hitting safely in eight straight contests (16-for-35) for the Astros, who lead second-place Oakland by nine games in the division after improving to 88-48. Framber Valdez hopes to match his last performance when he takes the ball for Houston on Saturday and the Blue Jays will counter with veteran Clay Buchholz, who came off the injured list in his last start. Toronto has dropped nine of its last 11 games and three of four against the Astros this season despite launching homers in each of the last three innings of Friday’s setback. Rookie phenom Bo Bichette had a double in the series opener to extend his hitting streak to six games (11-for-28) and boasts 23 extra-base hits in his first 29 major league games for the Blue Jays while teammate Reese McGuire homered and is 5-for-5 in his last two games.
TV: 3:07 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston), TVA, Sportsnet (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros LH Framber Valdez (4-6, 5.14 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Clay Buchholz (0-3, 5.87)
Valdez comes in off one of his best starts of the season when he limited the Los Angeles Angels to one run on two hits over six innings with eight strikeouts Sunday in a win that ended a four-game losing streak. The 25-year-old Dominican Republic native has three quality starts in his last seven outings, including six innings of two-run ball in a win over the Blue Jays at home June 15. Valdez is 1-5 with a 7.25 ERA in 10 games (two starts) on the road in 2019.
Buchholz posted a quality start in his first outing in more than three months due to a shoulder injury, permitting two runs on three hits over six innings Sunday in a 3-1 loss at Seattle. The 35-year-old Texan notched the 1,000th strikeout of his career last time out, but served up his sixth homer in six starts this season. Josh Reddick is 4-for-11 with a homer and a double versus Buchholz, who is 3-1 with a 3.05 ERA in six career starts against the Astros.
WALK-OFFS
1. Toronto 2B Cavan Biggio homered for the first time in 18 games Friday to push his rookie total to 11.
2. Houston 1B Yuli Gurriel is 10-for-28 with two homers, eight runs scored and seven RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak.
3. Blue Jays’ rookie 3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was ejected for the first time in his career Friday after arguing balls and strikes.