José Berríos will look to course-correct after a rocky last outing when he takes the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays came back for a dramatic walk-off win over the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the series Tuesday, and will look to maintain momentum in Game 2 of the three-game set at Rogers Centre.
Catch the action on Sportsnet with Blue Jays Central coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT.
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Watch Blue Jays vs. Astros on Sportsnet
The Toronto Blue Jays will look to extend their lead for a division-series bye in Game 2 of their series against the Houston Astros at Rogers Centre on Wednesday. Catch the action on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+ starting at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
Berríos has struggled of late, allowing seven baserunners and six runs over only two innings in his last outing, against the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 2, and posting a 4.81 ERA since the All-Star break, the highest of any Blue Jays starter.
The 31-year-old right-hander will pitch on three extra days of rest after swapping starts with Shane Bieber and has started only twice in the last 18 days, receiving plenty of extra rest after sustaining a notable dip in fastball velocity.
A strong showing from Berríos would help the Blue Jays as they look to extend their 5.5 game lead over the Astros in the race for a top-two spot in American League and bye to an AL division series.
The Blue Jays enter the day 0.5 games up on the Detroit Tigers for the top spot in the Junior Circuit and 3.0 games ahead of both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the AL East.
Jason Alexander will be on the bump for Houston. The soft-throwing righty has filled in admirably in the Astros’ rotation after being claimed off waivers from the Athletics in May, pitching to a 3.19 ERA over 10 appearances, nine of them starts.
It has been the best stretch of the 32-year-old’s brief two-year stint in the majors. Alexander has a 5.07 career-ERA over 32 outings split between the Astros, Athletics and Brewers, and hadn’t appeared in an MLB game since 2022 before this season.
After Astros’ starter Luis Garcia left with elbow discomfort after 1.2 innings in only his second start back from Tommy John surgery in Game 1, the Blue Jays offence scuffled against replacement AJ Blubaugh.
Their first hit came on a 114 m.p.h., 450-foot rocket to left by George Springer to lead off the sixth inning, his longest home run of the season.
A clutch two-run single in the ninth by recent waiver claim Isiah Kiner-Falefa and an RBI-fielder’s choice by Tyler Heineman secured the extra-innings comeback.
The Blue Jays will remain without star shortstop Bo Bichette, who has no timeline for a return after being diagnosed with a left knee sprain and placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday. Bichette will rest for at least the remainder of the week and will need a few days to test his knee before returning to action.
Bichette’s time on the 10-day IL is backdated to Sept. 7, meaning the earliest he is eligible to return is Sept. 17, against the Tampa Bay Rays.
