Following a huge series win over the Tampa Bay Rays, the Toronto Blue Jays will head down to Houston for a three-game set with the defending World Series Champions.

Kevin Gausman will kick things off on Monday evening while the Astros will send Christian Javier to the mound. Gausman has thrown a quality start in all three of his outings so far this season and he owns a sparkling 1.35 ERA with 25 strikeouts compared to just three walks. Javier has made three starts and owns an ERA of 4.24 with 14 strikeouts and two walks.
The Astros are off to a slow start this season as they navigate an injury to Jose Altuve. They have a 7-9 record and they&#8217;re coming off of a 9-1 loss to the Texas Rangers on Sunday. Last season, Houston won four of the six outings between the two teams.
First pitch: 8:10 p.m. EST
Weather: The dome is closed in Houston. (<a href="https://rotogrinders.com/weather/mlb">RotoGrinders</a>)
The teams: 
Toronto Blue Jays: 10-6, 4.0 GB, +1.0 WCGB. 0 DIFF, 5.00 R/G.
Houston Astros: 7-9, 2.5 GB, 2.0 WCGB. +7 DIFF, 4.81 R/G.
Odds via Betano:
Moneyline: TOR -111; HOU +105. 
O/U: 7.5 — o7.5 -128; u7.5 +105.
Starting pitchers:
TOR: Kevin Gausman RHP — 1-1, 1.35 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 11.3 K9, 0.5 bWAR.
HOU: Christian Javier RHP — 1-0, 4.24 ERA, 1.176 WHIP, 7.4 K9, 0.1 bWAR.
Lineups: 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61791" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Screenshot-2023-04-17-144430.png" alt="" width="330" height="571" srcset="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Screenshot-2023-04-17-144430.png 330w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Screenshot-2023-04-17-144430-173x300.png 173w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 330px) 100vw, 330px" />
GAME DAY PREDICTION: A Kevin Gausman quality start leads the Jays to victory.
<h2>Need to bide the time until first pitch?</h2>
Tune into the latest edition of Blue Jays Nation Radio as the crew talks about the Jays&#8217; latest series against the Detroit Tigers.
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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at<a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing"> @zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
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Following a huge series win over the Tampa Bay Rays, the Toronto Blue Jays will head down to Houston for a three-game set with the defending World Series Champions.



Kevin Gausman will kick things off on Monday evening while the Astros will send Christian Javier to the mound. Gausman has thrown a quality start in all three of his outings so far this season and he owns a sparkling 1.35 ERA with 25 strikeouts compared to just three walks. Javier has made three starts and owns an ERA of 4.24 with 14 strikeouts and two walks.

The Astros are off to a slow start this season as they navigate an injury to Jose Altuve. They have a 7-9 record and they're coming off of a 9-1 loss to the Texas Rangers on Sunday. Last season, Houston won four of the six outings between the two teams.

First pitch: 8:10 p.m. EST

Weather: The dome is closed in Houston. (<a href="https://rotogrinders.com/weather/mlb">RotoGrinders</a>)

The teams: 

Toronto Blue Jays: 10-6, 4.0 GB, +1.0 WCGB. 0 DIFF, 5.00 R/G.

Houston Astros: 7-9, 2.5 GB, 2.0 WCGB. +7 DIFF, 4.81 R/G.

Odds via Betano:

Moneyline: TOR -111; HOU +105.
O/U: 7.5 — o7.5 -128; u7.5 +105.

Starting pitchers:

TOR: Kevin Gausman RHP — 1-1, 1.35 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 11.3 K9, 0.5 bWAR.

HOU: Christian Javier RHP — 1-0, 4.24 ERA, 1.176 WHIP, 7.4 K9, 0.1 bWAR.

Lineups: 

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61791" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Screenshot-2023-04-17-144430.png" alt="" width="330" height="571" />

GAME DAY PREDICTION: A Kevin Gausman quality start leads the Jays to victory.
<h2>Need to bide the time until first pitch?</h2>
Tune into the latest edition of Blue Jays Nation Radio as the crew talks about the Jays' latest series against the Detroit Tigers.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/01bX9FSxaqSpUFJ1EoMjVy

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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at<a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing"> @zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.

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GDB 17.0: Toronto Blue Jays open series against Houston Astros

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