Ronel Blanco aims to steady Astros in crucial Game 3 matchup with Blue Jays
BLANCO ON THE BUMP
03 July 2024
BLANCO ON THE BUMP
Houston Astros (43-42, second in the AL West) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (39-46, fifth in the AL East)
Toronto; Wednesday, 7:07 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Ronel Blanco (8-3, 2.49 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 84 strikeouts); Blue Jays: Yusei Kikuchi (4-8, 4.18 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 93 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -113, Blue Jays -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Toronto Blue Jays host the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
Toronto is 21-22 in home games and 39-46 overall. The Blue Jays have a 27-15 record in games when they record eight or more hits.
Houston has a 19-23 record on the road and a 43-42 record overall. Astros hitters have a collective .322 on-base percentage, the second-ranked percentage in the AL.
Wednesday’s game is the sixth meeting between these teams this season. The Astros hold a 3-2 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the Blue Jays with a .298 batting average, and has 18 doubles, 13 home runs, 39 walks and 50 RBI. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is 16-for-38 with three home runs and four RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jays: 4-6, .248 batting average, 5.69 ERA, outscored by six runs.
Astros: 8-2, .293 batting average, 3.70 ERA, outscored opponents by 27 runs
INJURIES: Blue Jays: Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 10-Day IL (knee), Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: day-to-day (finger), Yimi Garcia: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jordan Romano: 15-Day IL (elbow), Alek Manoah: 15-Day IL (elbow)
Astros: Jake Bloss: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Victor Caratini: 10-Day IL (hip), Justin Verlander: 15-Day IL (neck), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (forearm), Kyle Tucker: 10-Day IL (shin), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (forearm), Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Jalen Green made eight 3-pointers and scored 38 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 109-94 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night in a testy matchup to even the first-round Western Conference series at one game apiece.
30 PTS through 3 quarters 🔥@JalenGreen https://t.co/Qj2MAu16Yz
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 24, 2025
The seventh-seeded Warriors never led and played short-handed for most of the night after Jimmy Butler left with a pelvis contusion after a hard fall on a foul late in the first quarter.
Green, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, rebounded from a flop in his playoff debut, when he scored just seven points on 3-of-15 shooting, with a dominant Game 2.
His eight 3-pointers were two more than the No. 2-seeded Rockets made on 6-of-29 shooting in a 95-85 Game 1 loss.
𝙏𝙐𝙁𝙁 step 🔙 pic.twitter.com/xGcq0fgwcX
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 24, 2025
Alperen Sengun had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets. Tari Eason had 14 points off the bench.
𝙥𝙤𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 🍿@alperennsengun pic.twitter.com/ll5Pge7R3q
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 24, 2025
Game 2 is Saturday night at Golden State.
Stephen Curry had 20 points and nine assists for the Warriors and become the 11th player in NBA history to reach 4,000 career playoff points with 4,017.
Houston led by 20 with about 10 minutes left before the Warriors used a 9-0 run, with two 3s from Quinten Post, run to get within 11. Jalen Green was called for a flagrant foul on Draymond Green at the end of that run after he flailed an arm into his face.
The Rockets then used an 8-0 spurt, highlighted by a step-back 3 from Green, to extend the lead to 99-80 with 5 ½ minutes remaining. Draymond Green received a technical foul in that stretch for arguing with officials and Eason received one for throwing a towel in an “unsportsmanlike manner.”
The loss of Butler, acquired from Miami in a February trade, was a huge blow to the Warriors after he had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the series opener. On top of Butler’s injury, the Warriors were also hampered by Brandin Podziemski’s stomach ailment.
He missed most of the first half dealing with the problem and was scoreless in 14 minutes after scoring 14 points in Game 1.
Final Thoughts
Vanessa Richardson was joined by Sengun after the big win!
“I was telling him, we’ve earned this.”
Tonight, in their fourth season, Alperen Sengun & Jalen Green win their first playoff game. @SpaceCityHN | @HoustonRockets #Liftoff pic.twitter.com/56OctjGAgU
— Vanessa Richardson (@SportsVanessa) April 24, 2025