Monday's series opener kicks off at 7:07 PM ET at Rogers Centre, and the vibes around these two teams could not be more different right now. The Astros are 35-41 and have been mashing the bottom of the AL West all month, while the Blue Jays have stacked three straight at Fenway to climb back to within a game of .500.
The pitching matchup is the only thing the Jays will not have a definitive read on heading in, because Max Scherzer just landed on the 15-day IL with back spasms and Toronto is scrambling rotation pieces around him. Houston is in the same boat from a different angle — Lance McCullers Jr., Cristian Javier, Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter are all on the shelf, which is a wild amount of rotation depth to be missing in one trip north.
The Astros' offense is the louder problem though. They scored 4, 4 and 0 in their last 3 games against Detroit and Kansas City and got blown out 9-3 in the middle of that stretch. Jeremy Pena and Isaac Paredes have been carrying the heavier load, but with Carlos Correa out for the year post-ankle surgery and LaMonte Wade Jr. on the IL, there is not a lot of margin to play with on nights when the top of the order goes quiet.
Toronto has the better story going. The Jays just took 3 straight from the Red Sox by scores of 6-1, 3-0 and 4-3, and Daulton Varsho is trending toward an activation off the 10-day IL this week per Blue Jays manager John Schneider. Getting his glove back in center alone tightens up a defense that has been carrying the rotation through the Scherzer/Berrios/Bieber/Francis avalanche of arm injuries.
- Day-To-DayWalker Janek C — Double-A Corpus Christi placed Janek on its 7-day injured list Sunday due to an unspecified injury.
- 10-Day-ILBraden Shewmake SS — The Astros announced Monday that Shewmake (adductor) has taken part in baseball activity and is working his way through a running progression at the team's facility in Florida, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILLaMonte Wade Jr. 1B — Wade left Monday's game against the Angels with right hamstring soreness, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILNick Allen SS — Allen was removed from Sunday's game against the Athletics due to left hamstring discomfort.
- 15-Day-ILLance McCullers Jr. SP — Astros manager Joe Espada said Saturday that McCullers (shoulder) has resumed throwing off a mound, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILBennett Sousa RP — The Astros announced Friday that Sousa (elbow) has begun a throwing progression, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILCristian Javier SP — Astros manager Joe Espada said Wednesday that Javier (shoulder) will make a fourth minor-league rehab start before returning from the 60-day injured list, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILRonel Blanco SP — Blanco (elbow) tossed 40 pitches in a simulated game Saturday and will soon start a rehab stint in the Florida Complex League, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DayGeovanny Jesus Planchart C — no
- Day-To-DayChay Yeager RP — Yeager will undergo season-ending UCL surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
- 10-Day-ILDaulton Varsho CF — Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Thursday that Varsho (wrist) could be activated from the 10-day injured list when first eligible Saturday, but he will "have to do a lot today and tomorrow" in order to make that happen, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
- 10-Day-ILLenyn Sosa 2B — Sosa (wrist) could begin a rehab assignment next week, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
- 10-Day-ILAddison Barger RF — Barger (elbow) might not begin a rehab assignment until early next week, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
- 15-Day-ILMax Scherzer SP — The Blue Jays placed Scherzer on the 15-day injured list Wednesday due to back spasms.
- developmental listFernando Perez P
- 60-Day-ILAnthony Santander RF — Santander (shoulder) could resume hitting within the next week, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Houston is 35-41 for a reason. The pitching depth is shredded, the lineup is leaning on 2 guys, and they are now walking into a building where the home team is the hottest version of itself it has been in weeks. Monday's opener feels like a Toronto game to lose — and given the way the Jays just went into Fenway and choked the Red Sox out, that is not a great spot for the visitors.