First pitch is 7:10 PM CT at Daikin Park, and the storylines on the mound are the whole game. Jones (0-0, 10.38) is in start number 2 since coming back from elbow surgery; Teng (3-3, 2.57) keeps quietly piling up quality work in a Houston rotation that's been gutted by the IL.
Jones' last outing — 4.1 innings, 5 ER, 6 K against the Twins on May 29 — was always going to look ugly on a per-inning basis with a 77-pitch leash coming off rehab. The strikeouts (6 in 4.1) say the stuff is there. The runs say the command isn't all the way back. Teng, meanwhile, has 20 punchouts over his last 16 innings and went 5 IP with 7 K's against Milwaukee in his most recent start. Different problems, different vibes.
Pittsburgh came into Houston riding a 4-game winning streak and is 33-29 — actually a fun team again. They blitzed the Astros for 10 runs in the opener, then coughed up an 11-9 slugfest. That's a combined 36 runs in 2 games at Daikin, which is why the total sits at 8.5 with the over juiced to -104. Sportsbooks aren't pretending this is a pitcher's duel waiting to break out.
The Astros at 28-35 are a mess on paper, and the injury list explains most of it. Carlos Correa just had ankle surgery. Jose Altuve is still working back from the oblique. Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr., Hayden Wesneski, Ronel Blanco — the entire projected rotation is essentially on the shelf. Teng going from bullpen swingman to rotation mainstay is less a development story and more a roster necessity.
- Day-To-DayAnthony Solometo SP — Solometo is sidelined at Double-A Altoona with recurring left shoulder discomfort, Jose Negron of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.
- Day-To-DayOddanier Mosqueda RP — Mosqueda will not throw for a couple weeks due to left forearm inflammation, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
- Day-To-DayMike Clevinger RP — Clevinger is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks after being diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his right knee, Jason Mackey of MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DaySean Sullivan SP — Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Sullivan is battling right elbow soreness, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
- 10-Day-ILKonnor Griffin SS — The Pirates placed Griffin on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to a flexor strain in his right elbow.
- 10-Day-ILJoey Bart C — Bart (foot) has been cleared to resume weight room activity and play light catch, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
- 15-Day-ILChris Devenski RP — Devenski (illness) is expected to resume throwing bullpen sessions during the upcoming week, MLB.com reports.
- 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-ILJose Altuve 2B — Altuve (oblique) is slated to take live batting practice Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILBraden Shewmake SS — Shewmake (groin) is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILJoey Loperfido LF — Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters Monday that Loperfido (quadriceps) will pause his rehab assignment until Wednesday after fouling a ball off his foot during Sunday's game with Double-A Corpus Christie, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILYainer Diaz C — Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Diaz (oblique) is expected to begin a rehab assignment during the first week of June, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILLance McCullers Jr. SP — McCullers was scratched from his scheduled start against the Twins on Tuesday due to shoulder inflammation, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 15-Day-ILBennett Sousa RP — The Astros placed Sousa on the 15-day injured list Saturday with left elbow inflammation, retroactive to Wednesday, Julia Morales of Space City Home Network reports.
- 60-Day-ILCarlos Correa SS — Correa is scheduled to undergo surgery Monday in Houston to repair the tendon in his left ankle, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
The market reads this as a coin flip: Pirates -102, Astros -108. That's about as pick'em as it gets, and it makes sense — Houston has the better starter on paper but the worse lineup with Altuve and Correa out, and Pittsburgh has the hotter offense but a starter still finding his pitch count. If Jones gets through 5 clean, the Pirates probably win it. If he doesn't, this is Astros 7-4 by the 6th.
Pick a side and hang on. The first 2 games of this series have averaged 18 runs and at no point felt comfortable for either bullpen. No reason to expect Game 3 to behave.