When Casey Clary started giving youth baseball lessons some 15 years ago, his self-described philosophy was "to basically do more than everyone else." Rain in St. Petersburg, Fla., for example, would not mean canceling but running or practicing slides in the elements,

The survival of a six-man rotation relied on Colton Gordon’s left arm. His major-league debut on Wednesday night doubled as an inflection point for a pitching staff pushed to its limit. Two starters are absent due to injury and the bullpen is down a reliever by choice.

The Astros are favored (-132 on the moneyline to win) when they take on the Royals (+112). The scheduled starters are Colton Gordon for the Houston Astros, and Michael Lorenzen (3-3) for the Kansas City Royals.