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TORONTO – There may come a time in the next few years when the Houston Astros are a good baseball team. That time, however, is not now and with apologies to the "Its Early" crowd, with whom we typically should all agree hardly removed from opening day, this three-game home set with the Houston Astros is important to the Blue Jays. Nobody is suggesting that, say, if Toronto gets swept its season is over. But a check of the math tells you it doesnt help. The Blue Jays, by virtue of their perch in the American League East, have the unenviable task of playing 76 of their 162 games against their four divisional opponents. They get the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles 19 times each, a veritable meat grinder that can chew up and spit out the hope for a successful season all by itself. Lets say, for the sake of argument, the Blue Jays go 38-38 against their own division. That leaves 86 games against non-divisional opponents. To get to 90 wins, which likely wont be enough to win the division and may or may not be enough to capture one of the two wild card spots, Toronto would have to go 52-34. So far, after splitting a four-game series in Tampa Bay and disappointingly dropping two of three at home to the Yankees, the Jays are 3-4 within the AL East. Houston marks the first non-divisional opponent and due to the make up of the schedule, this is the only time the Astros will visit Toronto all year. It doesnt matter whether its April, June, or the intensity filled months of August and September, Houstons only here once and when they visit the Jays need to make hay. More than anything, manager John Gibbons wants his club to better protect home soil. "Ive always said you cant bury yourself early," said Gibbons. "Especially in this division, its an uphill battle and its real tough to come back. Were trying to get off to a good start and with more games at home itd be nice to finish up good at home. Youve got to play good at home, its no secret. Hold your own on the road and play good baseball at home." JEKYLL AND HYDE ROTATION The biggest question facing the Blue Jays (3-4) heading into the season centred on the starting rotation. Could it hold up in the toughest division in baseball? In the wins, Dr. Jekyll rules the day. When Torontos lost, Mr. Hyde rears his ugly face. Heres a look at the numbers through the first seven games: In the three wins, no runs allowed in 20 2/3 innings pitched. April 1: Drew Hutchison, 5.1 innings pitched.April 2: Mark Buehrle, 8.2 IP.April 5: R.A. Dickey, 6.2 IP. In the four losses, the starts have allowed a staggering 20 earned runs in just 16 innings pitched (11.25 ERA, averaging four innings pitched per start): March 31: R.A. Dickey, 6 earned runs in 5 innings pitched.April 3: Brandon Morrow, 4 ER in 5 IP.April 4: Dustin McGowan, 4 ER in 2.2 IP.April 6: Drew Hutchison, 6 ER in 3.1 IP. ROTATION JUGGLING Mondays off day has afforded manager John Gibbons the opportunity to flip R.A. Dickey and Dustin McGowan, meaning Dickey will start Thursdays series finale against the Astros and McGowan will open a three-game set in Baltimore on Friday night. "Thatll split up Morrow and McGowan," said Gibbons. "The two guys were watching a little bit. Put Dickey in the middle and he can eat some innings, anyway." Dickey has repeatedly said he prefers pitching under a roof, although Gibbons denied the forecasted cool conditions outdoors in Baltimore factored in to the decision. REYES UPDATE Jose Reyes, eligible to come off the disabled list from a strained left hamstring on April 16, ran the treadmill and took ground balls during batting practice on Tuesday afternoon. "Ill know better when I start running and see how Im feeling," said Reyes. "For now, Ill just take it day by day and see what happens." Reyes has been hitting to maintain his batting stroke but still has yet to run at full speed. When Reyes is ready to play, he expects to appear in at least a couple of minor league rehab games before returning to the Blue Jays. JANSSEN UPDATE Casey Janssen, out with an abdominal/back strain, doesnt think hell be ready to come off the disabled list when hes eligible on Sunday. "Probably not," said Janssen. "I dont know the exact date but Ive got to get on a rehab somewhere; hopefully shortly thereafter." Janssen expects only to need one or two minor league rehab games before hes back with the Blue Jays. If he continues to progress, its not unreasonable to expect Janssen to return mid-to-late next week. Jameson Taillon Jersey . TSN 1290s coverage begins with Hustler & Lawless at 3pm. Rick Ralph hosts the Official Jets Pre-game Show at 5pm. Starling Marte Jersey . After not scoring 40 points in the opening quarter in the last five seasons, the Rockets have done it five times this season and twice in the last three games. http://www.piratesrookiestore.com/Pirate...se-Kids-Jersey/. -- Ben Bishop had a milestone game against one of the NHLs greatest goalies. Custom Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys . A wide-eyed 18-year-old visiting North America for only the second time in his young life, Caboclo immediately noticed the "big tower" his new home is best known for. Adam Frazier Jersey .C. - Canadian ice dancing, it seems, is in good hands.SEATTLE -- Learning that former Padres Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn had died completely changed Chris Youngs outlook on pitching against his former team. "I think any fun about pitching against them disappeared this morning with the news of Tony passing," the Mariners right-hander said after Seattles 5-1 win over San Diego on Monday night. "My condolences go out to his family, the Padres organization, the city of San Diego. He meant a lot to everyone there and Im grateful I had the opportunity to work with him and get to know him." The loss capped a sombre day for the Padres organization. Gwynn, 54, died Monday morning of oral cancer, a disease he attributed to years of chewing tobacco. "Even though were away from San Diego I think the Mariners did a good job of putting Tony out there," Padres manager Bud Black said. Kyle Seager hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Brad Miller added a solo shot, and Young threw six shutout innings against his former team. San Diego was on the verge of being shut out by Young (6-4) and a pair of relievers until Carlos Quentin hit a solo homer leading off the ninth. But Gwynn was on everyones mind at Safeco Field. Seattle honoured Gwynn with a video tribute and moment of silence before the game and put a 19 on the dirt in the hole between the shortstop and third baseman. Gwynn called that the "5.5 hole" and many of his 3,141 hits went through it. San Diego added black armbands to its uniform in honour of Gwynn, and his No. 19 jersey hung in the Padres dugout. His jersey also was scattered among fans in attendance. "He is the city of San Diego. You talk Padres baseball, Tony Gwynn is everything there," Young said. Seagers homer came on a 3-0 pitch from San Diego starter Tyson Ross (6-6). Coming off a 4-for-4 performance on Sunday, Seager was given the green light and hit his 10th homer of the season. Miller followed with a ssolo homer an inning later.dddddddddddd. Robinson Cano added an RBI double as Seattle scored all five runs in the first two innings. Seager leads Seattle in home runs and has seven hits in his last 10 at-bats with six RBIs. James Jones also stole three bases and scored twice for Seattle. "Its a good feeling that the skipper has confidence in you, thats always good," Seager said. "In that situation I had seen a couple of pitches ... when you get the opportunity you have to make sure you capitalize and get a ball in the air. Young was once an All-Star for the Padres and has become a valuable acquisition since joining Seattle at the end of spring training. After losing his last two starts, Young gave up two hits in the first inning and then cruised. He retired 16 of the final 19 batters he faced, giving up a pair of singles and issuing one walk. He matched his season high with six strikeouts. Joe Beimel, who gave up the final home run in Gwynns career, pitched one inning of relief for Seattle. Tom Wilhelmsen then got the final six outs, but couldnt complete the shutout giving up Quentins third homer of the season. Ross had allowed only one homer in his previous six starts, but struggled all night. He walked a career-high seven and at least one in every inning. Ross pitched into the sixth inning and helped save the Padres bullpen. "My command wasnt very sharp tonight," Ross said. "I kind of grinded through some innings there and overall just wasnt in the strike zone early and often enough." NOTES: Young has now faced all 30 teams in the majors. ... Seattle hopes to send injured 1B Justin Smoak (quad) out on a rehab assignment Wednesday. Corey Hart (hamstring) and Michael Saunders (shoulder) could join Smoak on rehab assignments by the end of the week. ... In 11 career games against Seattle, Gwynn hit .261 (12 for 46) with three doubles and four RBIs. ' ' '