2020-08-22 18:40:00 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays meet Saturday in MLB action from Tropicana Field.
This will be the second installment of a four-game weekend series between these American League East teams. In the Friday game one opener, we had an extra-innings battle and a very tight game after Toronto blasted four runs in the second inning. Eventually, the Blue Jays scored twice in the 10th inning and scraped out a 6-5 win. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place.
The Blue Jays collected 10 hits on the evening Friday. Cavan Biggio led the way with three hits, two runs and an RBI, and Randal Grichuk had a nice outing with two hits and an RBI. Starting pitcher Matt Shoemaker managed 5.0 innings with four hits, two earned runs, one walk, six strikeouts and two homers allowed.
For the Saturday starting pitcher, the Blue Jays will send Hyun Jin Ryu to the mound. Over his five starts so far this season, Ryu is 2-1 with a 3.46 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 26.0 innings of work. Over his career, Ryu is 56-34 with a 2.99 ERA and 692 Ks in 766.1 innings overall.
Over on the Rays’ side, they had an unusually long (relatively speaking) outing from starter Kyle Yarbrough on Friday. He went 6.1 innings, posting eight hits, four earned, two walks, two homers and six strikeouts in a no-decision. Yandy Diaz managed three hits with a homer, two runs and two RBI to lead the team offensively.
In the Saturday starting pitcher role, Tampa Bay is going with Aaron Slegers. Across three starts without a decision this season, Slegers has a 11.25 ERA with one save and three strikeouts in 4.0 innings. On his career, Slegers is 1-2 with a 6.25 ERA and 18 Ks in 36.0 innings overall.
The Blue Jays are 5-0 in their last five games after a win and 4-0 in their last four road games. Toronto is 5-2 in their last seven during game two of a series and 2-5 in their last seven Saturday games.
Meanwhile, the Rays are 11-2 in their last 13 games overall and 4-1 in their last five games as a home underdog. Tampa Bay is 35-16 in their last 51 games on turf and 20-7 in their last 27 home games versus a team with a winning record.
Pick: I’m going to take a shot at the Blue Jays here. Granted, the Rays look really tough this season; the team’s pitching staff and opportunistic hitting have served them well. It seems like whomever Tampa Bay puts on the mound generally does well. That said, Ryu posted one run over six innings with no walks in his last outing, and he should come out pretty sharp in this one. If Ryu can get his velocity up and hit his spots, Toronto has an open road to a nice divisional win.
