Astros Look To Change Their Clutch Hitting Numbers From Monday Night

Astros send Hayden Wesneski to the mound looking to get the team back on the winning path.

Aug 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes (15 Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Houston Astros failed to come through with a load of runners on base in last night’s game against the Blue Jays. The Astros will look to rebound on Tuesday sending Hayden Wesneski to the mound.

Dating back to Sunday’s game, Houston has failed to score 18 of its last 19 baserunners. The Astros reached base safely 15 times (10 hits and five walks) on Monday but could only scratch across one run. They hit 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Dalton Varsho Debut

Aug 3, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros center fielder Daulton Varsho (18) . Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dalton Varsho made his Astros debut and started with a infield hit showing off his speed. He would go 1-for-4 in the game with a walk. He hit in the four-hole in Monday’s game which might have been overstating his value. Houston might be better off hitting him sixth or lower. Christian Walker (/237 average, .771 OPS) has shown himself to be a better hitter than Varsho this season and should be getting more plate appearances than Varsho on this Astros team.

Christian Javier did the bare minimum on the mound to earn a quality start, throwing six innings and allowing three earned runs. He was relieved by Tatsuya Imai who dazzled in a surprise showing. The Japanese right-hander threw three perfect innings with five strikeouts.

Looking to Game Two

Tonight the Astros send Wesneski to the mound to make his second start in over a year. Last time out on July 29, he finished one out short of a quality start with 5.2 innings and three earned runs allowed. He fanned four in those frames and kept the ball in the ballpark. He was able to earn the win in that game as the Astros offense provided seven runs of support in the contest. The Astros need strikes out of Wesneski in Tuesday’s game and need him to rely on the defense behind him to provide support.

The Blue Jays send Trey Yesavage to the mound for his 21st start of the season. The 22-year old has a 3.73 ERA this year with a 2.1 bWAR this season. The last time he faced Houston back on June 24, he went 5.2 innings with five strikeouts. He only allowed two hits but walked five Astros. He earned a no-decision as the Astros would break a 1-1 tie with runs in the eighth inning and ninth long after Yesavage left the game.

The Blue Jays are trending upward with wins in four of their last five games. They still just have a 6% chance to make the playoffs according to Baseball Reference. Toronto cooled off the streaking Astros on Tuesday but Houston is slight favorites heading into the middle game of the three-game set. If the Astros can reach base like they did in Monday’s loss, they are bound to see more fortunate outcomes this time around.