The Blue Jays optioned fifth starter to Triple-A Buffalo before Mondays lo s in Houston. They recalled reliever in his place, thus leaving them with a four-man rotation. An off day on Thursday allows them to skip the fifth starter this time. and will follow , who pitched tonight, in the Houston series. will take Fridays series opener against the Yankees, while Gausman and Ba sitt will be back on regular rest to finish the weekend in the Bronx. relays word from manager John Schneider that the Jays will return to a five-man rotation after that. An off day next Monday would have allowed them to stick with a four-man staff into the end of next week, but thats apparently not the plan. An optioned pitcher must stay in the minors for at least 15 days unle s theyre being recalled as the corresponding move for an injured list placement. Barring injury, Lucas wont be back for at least a couple weeks. The 28-year-old Lucas entered this season with 14 career MLB appearances. All of those had come in relief. He was pushed into the starting five with battling renewed thumb discomfort that sent him to the injured list. Lucas fired 10 1/ John Curtiss Jersey 3 scorele s innings with 11 strikeouts over his first two big league starts. He was bombed in each of his next two outings, however. The Braves put up eight runs (including a trio of homers) in his third appearance. He couldnt get out of the second inning during Sundays start against the Mariners, who put up six runs. The overall result is a 7.41 earned run average through 17 innings. Scherzer doesnt seem especially close to a return. The future Hall of Famer provided a mildly positive update on Monday, saying a second cortisone shot has allowed him to better grip the ball (via ). Scherzer was able to throw off flat ground during pregame warm-ups at Daikin Park, but he doesnt appear to be nearing a rehab stint. It leaves the Jays in a difficult spot once they go back to a five-man rotation. The decision to turn to Lucas in the first place pointed to the teams lack of depth beyond their Opening Day starting five. , acquired in last summers trade, has three major league starts to his name. He has been hit hard over his first four Triple-A starts this year, allowing a 7.31 ERA with a below-average 17.5% strikeout rate. Aside from Lucas, prospect who underwent meniscus surgery in February and hasnt pitched this year is the only other starter on the 40-man roster. Lefty , who owns a 5.68 ERA through his first four Triple-A starts, is their most experienced non-roster depth option. Dwight Gooden Jersey