GDB 64.0: Jose Berrios looks to lead Toronto Blue Jays to series victory over Houston Astros
By Zach Laing
10 months agoI won’t lie, I got a little bit nervous ahead of this series against the Houston Astros and doubly so after Alek Manoah’s stinker in Monday’s series opener.
Now I’m walking into game four of the four-game set feeling like the Toronto Blue Jays may never lose a game of baseball again.
The beautiful game, it sure is.
It’ll be Jose Berrios on the mound leading the charge for the Blue Jays tonight as they look to secure their third straight win and the 10th of their last 13 games.
As I wrote about in a recent GDB, Berrios’ turnaround this season has been critical for the Jays as he, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt have formed a potent trio through the middle of the rotation. They’ve helped cover up for some of the woes of Alek Manoah’s game and some of the faults, which have been exposed again in Yusei Kikuchi’s game.
Berrios will surely be tested by the Astros offence which can pop off at the swing of a bat, but the Jays’ bats won’t have it easy, either. Houston has lefty Framber Valdez taking the mound who has been strong against right-handed batters all season.
First pitch: 7:07 p.m. EST
Weather: 16C. The roof is covered tonight due to the wildfire smoke, according to the Jays.
Toronto Blue Jays: 35-28, 10.0 GB, 1.5 WCGB, +29 DIFF.
Houston Astros: 36-26, 4.5 GB, – WCGB, +60 DIFF.
Moneyline: TOR -108; HOU -110.
Starting pitchers:
TOR: Jose Berrios RHP — 5-4, 12 GS, 71.1 IP. 3.66 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 1.248 WHIP, 9.6 K/9, 0.8 bWAR.
HOU: Framber Valdez LHP — 6-4, 12 GP, 79.0 IP. 2.16 ERA, 2.87 FIP, 1.025 WHIP, 9.6 K/9, 2.5 bWAR.
Lineups:
Toronto
- G Springer (R) RF
- B Bichette (R) SS
- V Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
- M Chapman (R) 3B
- A Kirk (R) C
- B Belt (L) DH
- W Merrifield (R) LF
- S Espinal (R) 2B
- K Kiermaier (L) CF
Astros
- J Peña (R) SS
- J Altuve (R) 2B
- Y Alvarez (L) DH
- A Bregman (R) 3B
- K Tucker (L) RF
- J Abreu (R) 1B
- C McCormick (R) LF
- J Meyers (R) CF
- M Maldonado (R) C
Need to bide the time until first pitch?
Tune into the latest edition of Blue Jays Nation Radio as the crew talks about the Jays’ latest series against the New York Mets.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
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