Houston @ Toronto preview

Houston at Toronto

Last Meeting ( Apr 9, 2014 ) Houston 3, Toronto 7

With a nine-game road trip in their near future, the Toronto Blue Jays appear poised to leave home with a full head of steam. The Blue Jays eye their fourth win in the last five contests and look to complete a three-game sweep Thursday when they host the Houston Astros. Toronto dropped two of three to the New York Yankees to start its six-game homestand, but rebounded with a pair of multiple-run victories against the light-hitting Astros.

After finishing with Houston, the Blue Jays will spend the next 10 days on the road with three-game sets in Baltimore, Minnesota and Cleveland before returning home to face the Orioles. The Astros have dropped six of seven since taking two from the Yankees to open the season, with the offense recording three runs or fewer in each of their setbacks. The Astros, who are 0-for-17 with runners in scoring position against Toronto, rank last in the American League with 26 runs scored and a .199 batting average.

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, CSN (Houston), SNET (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros LH Dallas Keuchel (0-1, 7.20 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH R.A. Dickey (1-1, 4.63)

Keuchel took the loss in his season debut against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday after surrendering four runs and eight hits over five frames. The 26-year-old kept the Blue Jays in check the last time he saw them Aug. 25 (four hits in seven scoreless innings), but was as equally ineffective in his last visit to Toronto on July 27 (six runs and 10 hits - including three homers - over 7 1/3 innings). In two career starts against the Blue Jays, Keuchel has allowed Toronto to bat .304.

After getting roughed up by the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day, Dickey was in fine form against the New York Yankees on Saturday, yielding five hits over 6 2/3 scoreless innings to get the victory. The knuckleballer only saw the Astros once in 2013, giving up five runs and seven hits over six frames in a no-decision July 26. The Blue Jays’ ace has faced Houston nine times in his career (including seven starts), posting a 2-2 record and 3.99 ERA.

WALK-OFFS

1. Toronto 2B Maicer Izturis has multiple hits in five of his seven games and is batting .455 after posting a .236 average in 2013.

2. The Astros have struck out 83 times after setting a major-league record last season with 1,535.

3. Blue Jays C Dioner Navarro on Wednesday stole a base for the first time since Sept. 7, 2009.

PREDICTION: Blue Jays 6, Astros 2