Sad News: Blue Jays’ fear the worst as another unfortunate injury emerge ahead of Astros game
The Toronto Blue Jays will face injuries and uncertainty when they continue their four-game series with the visiting Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (right hand) and infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa (left knee) were scratched from the Blue Jays’ series opener against the Astros, which ended 3-1 on Monday afternoon.
Guerrero, who is on a seven-game hitting streak, was hit in the hand by a pitch in the third inning Sunday against the New York Yankees. Davis Schneider, a pinch hitter, replaced him in the eighth.
Guerrero had discomfort in two fingers during batting practice before the game on Monday.
“I hope (Tuesday) it’s going to be good,” Guerrero said.
Kiner-Falefa injured his knee during pregame stretches, and now Toronto is awaiting test results.
“Really popped up out of nowhere,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.
The Blue Jays cannot afford to be without either player for an extended period of time. They are 2-3 during an eight-game homestand and have lost 10 of their past 13.
Meanwhile, the Astros continued their winning streak on Monday with their tenth win in eleven games. They improved to 3-1 on their 10-game road trip, due in part to home runs from Yordan Alvarez and Jeremy Pena, as well as Hunter Brown’s six scoreless innings.
“We’ve been playing our brand of baseball,” Pena informed the crowd. “We’ve been pitching effectively and playing solid defense. We’ve been receiving timely hits. That’s when we perform our best.”
Brown has a 5-0 record with a 0.29 ERA in his last five starts. Monday was his eighth consecutive quality start.
Toronto was unable to capitalize on right-hander Yariel Rodriguez’s outstanding performance, which lasted 6 2/3 innings and allowed only one run.
“This was the first time we saw him,” Pena explained. “He had some very good stuff. I thought he did a good job of finding pitches.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases twice, in the second against Brown and in the eighth against Bryan Abreu, but were unable to score.
“We just needed a hit in certain spots,” remarked John Schneider. “Twice, we loaded the bases with one out and couldn’t take advantage.”
Houston is set to pitch right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (4-6, 5.68 ERA) on Tuesday. He has never faced Toronto in his career.
Arrighetti won his most recent start against the Colorado Rockies last Wednesday after striking out a career-high 10 in seven scoreless innings.
Toronto will turn to right-hander Jose Berrios (7-6, 3.38). Berrios has a 5-4 record and a 3.93 ERA in 10 career starts against Houston.
Berrios just won a game against the Yankees, allowing two runs on two hits in seven innings on Thursday.
Toronto feels inspired by Houston’s recovery after a difficult start to the season.
“They have good players and we do too,” John Schneider said. “(Kyle) Tucker, (Jose) Altuve, (Alex) Bregman, Alvarez, some contributions from Chas (McCormick), (Yainer) Diaz, they kind of all got going at the same time. We’ve struggled to do that with our guys at the same time.
“That’s exactly what we’re looking for, you reel off what they’ve done. And you need good pitching every day and you need a good bullpen every day. And they’ve done a good job of that.”
