TODAY’S GAME: The Astros and Blue Jays will play the 2nd game of this 3-game set this afternoon at Rogers Centre.
RHP Peter Lambert (6-4) will start for the Astros as he takes on Jays RHP Shane Bieber, who is making is 1st start of the season.
Today is Lambert’s 1st career start and 2nd app. vs. TOR (other app. was in relief at Rogers Centre-3.0 IP, 0 R, 4/12/24).
RIDING THE LAMBO: Today’s Astros starter RHP Peter Lambert will make his 12th start/app. of the season.
He has pitched well as of late, posting
a 4-0 record in his last 5 starts with a 2.83 ERA (9ER/28.2IP).
In his most recent start on June 17 vs. DET, he allowed 1 run on just 2 hits in 7.0 innings of work to earn the win in a 4-2 Astros victory (0 BB, 5 SO).
Lambert’s 4 wins since May 24 are tied for tops in the Majors in that span.
Lambert pitched last year for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the NPB, posting a 3.98 ERA (55ER/124.1IP) with 111 strikeouts in 23 appearances in Japan.
He began this season at Triple A Sugar Land (1.84 ERA in three appearances) before being called up April 17.
ROAD TRIPPIN: Today is the 2nd game of a 7-game road trip for the Astros, during which they will visit TOR (3G) and DET (4G), respectively.
Road Success: The Astros are 10-7 in their last 3 road trips combined…they have have posted a 16-13 record on the road since going 1-9 on their 1st road trip of the 2026 season.
Road Raking: The Astros are T-1st in the AL in road batting avg. at .251…they also rank 2nd in road SLG (.414) and OPS (.740) and 3rd in road HR (52) and OBP (.325).
ASTROS-BLUE JAYS: The Astros were 4-2 vs. TOR in 2025 (3-0 at home, 1-2 at TOR).
HOU pitched very well vs. TOR last season, posting a 1.86 ERA (11ER/53.1IP) vs. them in 6 games while allowing just 31 hits in 53.1 IP for a .169 opponent batting avg.
Jays hitters were just 32×189 vs. HOU pitching overall last season.
Recent Success: Including last night’s game, the Astros have won 6 of 9 and 8 of their last 12 vs. TOR.
LAST NIGHT’S RECAP: The Astros were topped by the Blue Jays in last night’s series opener, 4-2.
RHP Hunter Brown started the game, but had no decision (3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 SO).
Jeremy Pena (1×2, R), Isaac Paredes (1×3, RBI) and Jose Altuve (1×3, RBI) contributed offensively.
An RBI-single by Jose Altuve in the 6th inning tied the game at 2-2, before TOR added single runs in the 7th and 8th innings to pull ahead.
Astros hitters were limited to just 5 singles by Blue Jays hurlers.
CLOSE CALLS: The Astros are now 14-10 in two-run games and 8-4 in one-run games.
THE SLOW TURNAROUND: Over the last month (May 21-June 22), the Astros are 17-12 (.586), which is T-2nd-best in the AL in that span.
RECENT STROS: The Astros have won 4 of 6 and 6 of their last 10 games.
HISTORIC HOMERS: Per Elias, Yordan Alvarez’ 25 HR are tied for the 2nd-most in franchise history through the club’s 1st 80 games.
The record for HR through the club’s 1st 81 games is 27, set by Lance Berkman in 2002.
Most HR thru 80 Team Games
26 – J. Bagwell, 1994 & 1999
25 – Y. Alvarez, 2026
25 – L. Berkman, 2002
Most HR thru 81 Team Games
27 – L. Berkman, 2002
26 – J. Bagwell, 1994 & 1999
ALL-STAR VOTING: Yordan Alvarez leads all AL DH’s in All-Star voting, per MLB’s update yesterday.
His 1,974,459 votes rank 2nd in the AL and 3rd overall in the Majors.
ROCKIN AT ROGERS: In his last 15 games at Rogers Centre, Yordan Alvarez has 7 HR and 16 RBI and is hitting .370 (19×50) in that span with an .860 SLG and a 1.362 OPS.
PEN PALS: Since May 15, the Astros bullpen has the best ERA in the AL with a 2.82 clip (39R/124.2IP). The Astros are 20-15 since May 15.
OKERT’S 0’S: LHP Steven Okert has not allowed a run in his last 15.0 innings, which is the longest scoreless streak by an Astros hurler this season.
His streak, which spans 12 apps., is the longest cons. inning scoreless streak since RHP AJ Blubaugh recorded 22.1 cons. scoreless innings from Aug. 23, 2025-March 26, 2026.
In Okert’s current streak, which began on May 23 at CHC, he has allowed just 4 hits in those 15.0 innings pitched.
HADERADE: In his 8 appearances since coming of the IL on June 3, opponents are just 2×26 off LHP Josh Hader.
Hader has posted a 1.13 ERA (1ER/8IP) and is 5-for-5 in save opportunities (.077 opp. avg., .038 WHIP).
ON THE DEFENSIVE: The Astros have the best fielding pct. in the AL at .989 and are tied with the A’s for the fewest errors committed with 30.
1B Christian Walker has led the way, as he has not committed an error in his 77 games played at 1B.
Dating back to last season, Walker has not made an error in his last 99 games at 1B (last error was August 23 at BAL).
POSITIVE IMPACT: Since SS Jeremy Peña returned to the lineup on May 18, the Astros have gone 18-14, while Peña has hit .297 (35×118) with 5 doubles, 6 homers and 18 RBI in 32 games.
TAPPING FOR SUCCESS: Astros batters have won an MLB-best 55 ABS challenges and lead the Majors in challenge success rate (60%).
Isaac Paredes (9-for-9) has the most successful challenges in the Majors without losing one.
Jose Altuve has been successful on 14-of-19 challenges (74%), ranking 2nd in the Majors in successful challenges.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, June 23, 3:07 p.m. CT
Location: Rodgers Centre, Toronto, ON
TV: Space City Home Network
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
