Philadelphia Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays – 9/19/20 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies meet Saturday in MLB action from Citizens Bank Park. 

This will be the third matchup in a four-game series between these teams this weekend. On Friday, we opened up with a doubleheader. In game one, the Phillies posted a 7-0 shutout win and kept it going in the nightcap with an 8-7 victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place. 

The Blue Jays dropped the nightcap on Friday despite putting up a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth. Teoscar Hernandez led the offense there with a solo homer, two runs and three hits. Starting pitcher Ross Stripling went 3.1 innings with four hits, three earned, three walks and four strikeouts. 

For the Saturday starting pitcher role, Toronto is going with Hyun Jin Ryu on the mound. In his 10 starts this season, Ryu is 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 54.0 innings of work Over his MLB career, Ryu is 58-34 with a 2.98 ERA and 725 Ks in 794.1 innings total. 

Over on the Phillies’ side, starting pitcher David Hale went 3.1 innings in the Friday nightcap with four hits and two earned runs. Bryce Harper went 3-for-3 with two RBI and a run. 

For the Saturday starter, Philadelphia will send Vince Velasquez to the mound. In his seven games (five starts) this season, Velasquez is 0-1 with a 6.46 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 23.2 innings of work. Over his MLB career, Velasquez is 27-35 with a 4.74 ERA and 603 Ks in 546.1 innings. 

The Blue Jays are 9-2 in their last 11 games as a road favorite and 11-23 in their last 34 interleague games. Toronto is 8-19 in their last 27 interleague games versus a right-handed starter and the under is 56-27-8 in their last 91 Saturday games. 

Meanwhile, the Phillies are 7-2 in their last nine Saturday games and 11-4 in their last 15 home games. Philadelphia is 32-67 in their last 99 games as an underdog and 3-7 in their last 10 games versus the American League East. 

Pick: I’m leaning toward sticking with the Blue Jays here. The Phillies are relying heavily on Velasquez right now, thanks to an injury to Spencer Howard and another to Jake Arrieta. Velasquez will be very important to Philadelphia down the stretch, but he’s struggled over his last couple of outings. In his last pair of starts, Velasquez is sporting a 6.23 ERA and has been iffy at best. Toronto should be able to post a few cushion runs over the first five innings or so and be in a nice position in this one.