Photo by Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Toronto Blue Jays (12-11) at Tampa Bay Rays (17-9)
MLB Baseball: Friday, August 21, 2020 at 6:40 pm (Tropicana Field)
Matt Shoemaker (0-1) (5.23) vs. Ryan Yarbrough (0-2) (4.13)
The Line: Tampa Bay Rays -168 / Toronto Blue Jays +155 --- Over/Under: 8.5 Click to Get Latest Betting Odds
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The Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays meet Friday in MLB action at Tropicana Field.
The Toronto Blue Jays look to build on their five-game winning streak. The Blue Jays have scored 17 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in five of their last six games. The Blue Jays have won six of their last eight games when scoring four or more runs. Teoscar Hernandez leads the Blue Jays with 26 hits and 16 RBI while Bo Bichette and Randal Grichuk have combined for 44 hits and 28 RBI. Matt Shoemaker gets the ball, and he is 0-1 with a 5.23 ERA and 19 strikeouts this season. Shoemaker is 4-0 with a 2.41 ERA and 29 strikeouts in his career against the Rays.
The Tampa Bay Rays look to build on their five-game winning streak. The Rays have scored 20 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in 12 of their last 13 games. The Rays have won 11 of their last 13 games when scoring four or more runs. Brandon Lowe leads the Rays with 29 hits and 23 RBI while Yandy Diaz and Willy Adames have combined for 46 hits and 14 RBI. Ryan Yarbrough gets the ball, and he is 0-2 with a 4.13 ERA and 15 strikeouts this season. Yarbrough is 6-1 with a 2.00 ERA and 28 strikeouts in his career against the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays are 4-0 in their last 4 games following a win, 4-1 in their last 5 road games and 5-0 in their last 5 overall. The Rays are 4-1 in their last 5 during game 1 of a series, 38-17 in their last 55 home games and 13-3 in their last 16 overall. The under is 6-1-1 in Blue Jays last 8 road games. The over is 4-1 in Rays last 5 Friday games. The Blue Jays are 37-81 in the last 118 meetings in Tampa Bay and 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.
Matt Shoemaker has allowed 11 earned runs and 12 hits in his last 13.2 innings, while Ryan Yarbrough has allowed nine earned runs and 17 hits in his last 12.1 innings. We have two pitchers who have struggled a bit in their last few starts, and we also have two hot teams that are swinging hotter bats. It feels like we should side with the over, especially with what feels like a small total.
Randy’s Pick Over 8.5
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
