Zach Dezenzo, Astros eye series win over Jays

Opportunities have been few and far between for Astros utility man Zach Dezenzo, whose breakout performance on Monday helped pace Houston to a 7-0 victory over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.

The Astros will try to clinch the three-game series in the middle contest on Tuesday.

Making his fifth start of the season and his first at first base, Dezenzo finished 2-for-3, including an RBI single in the Astros' four-run fifth inning. Dezenzo, who debuted on Aug. 6, 2024, had a breakout spring training, batting .391 with two homers, seven RBIs and a 1.070 OPS. Despite that, he hasn't been a consistent fixture in the Houston lineup.

"It's not easy having young players that want to be out there," Astros manager Joe Espada said. "I want to have them all out there. Player development, that's how I came up in my professional career. I understand the value of playing every day.

"The way he's gone about things, preparing every day, taking extra swings, working on his defense at first and in the outfield, I'm proud of him because it's not easy."

An Astros player who is making it look easy is right-hander Hunter Brown, who extended his scoreless-innings streak to 24 by tossing seven two-hit frames with a season-high nine strikeouts against the Blue Jays. The performance enabled Espada to use just one reliever -- right-hander Forrest Whitley, who made his season debut with two scoreless innings -- and reset his bullpen for the final two games of the series with Toronto following a hotly contested interleague set against the San Diego Padres over the weekend.

"We can lean on Hunter to provide that long outing that we need," Espada said. "We needed to come out here after a loss (Sunday) and set the tone. And Hunter is that guy."

Right-hander Ronel Blanco (1-2, 6.48 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Astros on Tuesday. He was the pitcher of record in a 4-1 road loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday after allowing three runs on five hits and three walks with one strikeout over five innings. Blanco has surrendered at least three runs in three of his four starts this season and has yet to record more than 15 outs in any of those appearances.

Blanco is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in four appearances (three starts) against Toronto. He no-hit the Blue Jays in his 2024 debut last April 1. He issued two walks and recorded seven strikeouts in the Astros' 10-0 victory.

Right-hander Chris Bassitt (2-0, 0.77) is the scheduled starter for the Blue Jays on Tuesday. He opened the season with consecutive quality starts and followed that by allowing a total of one run on eight hits and three walks with 15 strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta. He emerged with a 3-1 win over the Braves on Wednesday following a scoreless five-inning stint.

Bassitt is 5-5 with a 4.16 ERA across 15 career appearances (14 starts) against the Astros. In his most recent outing against Houston, on July 4, 2024, Bassitt allowed four runs on eight hits and four walks with three strikeouts across five innings in a 5-3 home loss.

--Field Level Media