One hit turned to two, two to three, and so on until Davis Schneider called the game.
His 423-foot home run in the top of the ninth inning is what the Toronto Blue Jays so sorely needed as they were able to mount an impressive late comeback over the Houston Astros Monday night. While the game as a whole wasn’t pretty for the Jays, Schneider’s swing was all it took for them to come out on top.
It swung their chance at winning the game from eight percent to 81 percent, and Chad Green securing the save in the bottom of the ninth sealed the Astros’ fate.
Early in a season like this, it’s easy to think that these games don’t really matter much, given there’s still over 95 percent of games left to play. But the truth of the matter is the first four series of the year for Toronto is as important as the final four. With a banged-up bullpen, Bo Bichette missing a pair of games, and being on the wrong side of a no-no, it’s become ever more important the Jays manage to find a way to get wins.
They opened up with a four-game split against the Tampa Bay Rays and are looking to find a series win over the Astros tonight, before heading to the Bronx Friday for a weekend set against the New York Yankees. Then, it’s their home opener against the Seattle Mariners.
All four of these series are against teams in the American League that the Jays will likely be in contention for playoff positioning. Given that they went 59-57 against fellow AL teams and 17-29 against ones that made the playoffs last season, being able to secure wins right now is critical for the bigger picture of this season.
First pitch: 8:10 p.m. EST. TV & Radio: Sportsnet.
Weather: N/A.
Moneyline: TOR +122; HOU -143.
Spread: TOR +1.5 -167; HOU -1.5 +135.
Over/Under: o8.5 -125; u8.5 +102.
*Odds available at the time of writing. Odds subject to change.
Starting pitchers:
| Name | Team | GS
|
W
|
L
|
IP
|
ERA
|
xERA
|
ERA-
|
FIP
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
BB/9
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Bassitt | TOR | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5.0 | 7.20 | 4.35 | 195 | 5.37 | 1.60 | 10.80 | 3.60 |
| Cristian Javier | HOU | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 0.00 | 1.45 | 0 | 1.87 | 0.83 | 9.00 | 1.50 |
Lineups:
TORONTO:
- TBA
- TBA
Need to bide the time until first pitch?
Tune into the latest edition of Blue Jays Happy Hour with Andrew Stoeten, as and Nick Ashbourne try to make sense of Monday’s no-no, and the starts from multiple Blue Jays.
🎧BJHH: 122. Getting Blanco'd
It's been boom-or-bust so far for the #BlueJays and this week @NickAshbourne and I check in on post-no-no vibes, and look at the starts from Vlad, George, Kirk, Varsho, Francis, & more! @nationnetworkhq @thejaysnation https://t.co/t7vBh7oc6w pic.twitter.com/YtRB6PrHC3— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) April 2, 2024
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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