Marco Estrada hopes cortisone shots will keep him in Jays' rotation

Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada is hoping cortisone shots to his sore back will prevent him from missing his next scheduled start.

Estrada, who aggravated a previous back injury while swinging a bat during an interleague game in Philadelphia last month, received four cortisone shots to his lower back on Monday — one each to the SI (sacroiliac) joints and one each to both facet joints on either side of his back.

Estrada experienced severe discomfort during his last start, a 9-6 win over Cleveland on Saturday in which the 32-year-old threw 96 pitches over five innings. An MRI Sunday revealed the same issues that caused him to miss much of spring training this year.

'Awkward swings'

"It will definitely go away, I think," Estrada said before Toronto opened a three-game series against Kansas City. "I reaggravated everything and it's basically what happened during spring. I couldn't really do anything but once I had the cortisone shot it took a few days and I was fine after that, to be honest with you.

"It felt good until Philadelphia when I took a few awkward swings and reaggravated everything. If it wasn't for that I'd probably be fine."

Estrada has been an anchor in Toronto's rotation with a 2.93 earned-run average and 5-3 record through 16 starts. He leads all major league starters with a .173 opponents' batting average.