Blue Jays at Astros
Yuli Gurriel has been swinging a hot bat in June, but he has made a habit of delivering in key situations all season long. The 34-year-old Cuban looks to continue his torrid month at the plate on Monday, when the Houston Astros begin the final leg of their nine-game homestand with the first of three contests versus the Toronto Blue Jays.
Gurriel finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and a grand slam in Sunday's 11-3 rout of Kansas City, lifting his batting average for the month to .358 while also increasing his average with runners in scoring position to a major league-best .464. "He just has a knack for really putting the barrel on the ball and doing incredibly positive things. … He can hit anything anywhere, and he usually hits it hard. And that was a big knockout blow for them early in the game," Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters after the game. Kendrys Morales clubbed a pinch-hit homer - the last of four blasts on the day for the team - to send Toronto to a 7-6 road victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday and a split of the four-game series. Morales has been on an extended offensive tear for the Blue Jays, registering multiple hits in nine of his last 15 starts and batting .352 over his last 28 games overall.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, TVA (Toronto), AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays LH J.A. Happ (9-3, 3.56 ERA) vs. Astros RH Justin Verlander (9-2, 1.60)
Happ is riding a five-game winning streak and managed to get the decision Wednesday versus Atlanta despite giving up four runs and six hits - two homers - in 8 1/3 innings. The 35-year-old Northwestern alum is one victory away from last year's total and averaging 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings, which would be his best mark for a full season. Houston's Jose Altuve is only 2-for-14 with a homer against Happ, who is 4-2 with a 3.33 ERA in eight career starts versus his former team.
Verlander posted his third 10-strikeout effort of the season, but Houston fell to 0-3 in those games with Tuesday's loss to Tampa Bay as he settled for a no-decision despite yielding only a solo homer and striking out 10 in 6 2/3 frames. The former American League MVP has yet to give up more than three earned runs in an outing, although four of the nine homers he has surrendered have come in his last three turns. Morales is 13-for-44 with two homers and 10 RBIs against Verlander, who is 3-5 with a 4.67 ERA in 12 career starts versus Toronto.
WALK-OFFS
1. Astros DH Evan Gattis also belted a pinch-hit solo shot on Sunday, lifting his totals in 21 games this month to eight home runs and a majors-best 25 RBIs.
2. Morales has reached base safely multiple times in five straight games as a starter, one shy of matching the longest such run of his career.
3. Houston has scored a league-high 142 runs in the seventh inning or later.