Game #23 Preview: Blue Jays @ Cleveland

The 10-12 Blue Jays ship off to Cleveland today to begin a four-game series that kicks off this evening at 7pm with Daniel Norris toeing the mound. Opposing him will be left-hander T.J. House who is in his second season with Cleveland after coming up to the big league squad in May of last year. The weather at the ballpark is going to be brisk for the two teams tonight with a temperature of about 9 C expected. The AL Central squad from Ohio was picked by many to be this year's Royals in the division, but have been poor so far this season currently sitting at a record of 7-13 winning only three of their last ten.

The 25-year-old starter in T.J. House was drafted by the team in the 16th round of the 2008 draft out of high school and slowly made his way up the minor league system never blowing anyone away but always producing fairly solid results. With the added benefit of being a lefty, House reached the majors last year and ended the season with an ERA of 3.35 thanks in large part to keeping his walks down. This year has been a different story for the Louisiana native, with a 12.60 ERA and 15.8 BB% in his first three starts causing some alarm in the Cleveland clubhouse. The poor guy is getting lit up like a Christmas tree if we're being honest.

House throws a sinker, slider, and changeup racking up the groundballs (60.4% career rate) with his hard stuff coming in around 90 mph. As you would expect, the changeup only makes an appearance when he's throwing against opposite-handed hitters although the slider is his favourite off-speed pitch against hitters from either side of the plate.

There's very little to say about Mr. House as he's the prototypical lefty groundball pitcher who is tough to hit when he's locating his spots on a cold night like tonight. His delivery is a bit like former Cleveland sinker-baller Justin Masterson from the opposite side, which allows him to get a lot of horizontal movement on his sinker although he's certainly no Aaron Loup with his sidearm delivery.

Hopeful Lineup

1. Devon Travis 2B
2. Josh Donaldson 3B
3. Jose Bautista DH
4. Edwin Encarnacion 1B
5. Russell Martin C
6. Kevin Pillar LF
7. Dalton Pompey CF
8. Michael Saunders RF
9. Ryan Goins

Bullpen Usage

Look for Miguel Castro and Roberto Osuna to each get an appearance today after their collective meltdown in Boston three days ago.

Find The Link

Find the link between T.J. House and the eighth round pick of the Devil Rays eleven years ago.

Hopefully Daniel Norris tosses another strong outing this evening in Ohio. Enjoy the game!