Houston Astros (31-25) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (29-25)
June 4, 2021 7:07 pm EDT
The Line: Toronto Blue Jays -120 / Houston Astros +100; Over/Under: 8.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Houston Astros and the Toronto Blue Jays meet in MLB action from Sahlen Field on Friday night.
The Houston Astros will look to bounce back from a 5-1 loss at the hands of the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. Yuli Gurriel went 3 for 4 with a solo home run while Aledmys Diaz went 2 for 3 with a double. Chas McCormick and Garrett Stubbs each had a base hit as well to cap off the offense for the Astros as Houston had seven hits as a team in the loss. Jake Odorizzi took the loss, falling to 0-3 on the year after allowing three earned runs on four hits over just three innings of work. Zack Greinke will start here and is 5-2 with a 3.67 ERA and 57 strikeouts this season. In his career, Greinke is 4-4 with a 4.33 ERA and 55 strikeouts against Toronto.
The Toronto Blue Jays will come into this one looking to build on a 6-5 win over Miami last time out. Randal Grichuk and Bo Bichette each had two RBIs with Grichuk belting a pair of solo home runs while Bichette added a triple. Joe Panik added an RBI as well while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added a triple as well. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had a pair of base hits and Rowdy Tellez added a double while Reese McGuire and Marcus Semien each chipped in base hits to finish off Toronto’s offense in the win. Alek Manoah gave up four runs on four hits in 3.1 innings of work, not factoring in the decision. Anthony Castro picked up the win in relief to improve to 1-1 on the year. Hyun-Jin Ryu will start this one and is 5-2 with a 2.62 ERA and 58 strikeouts this season. This will be Ryu’s first career start against Houston.
Houston is 5-2 in their last 7 games against a left-handed starter and 4-1 in their last 5 games overall while the over is 5-0 in their last 5 series-opening games. Toronto is 8-0 in their last 8 games following an off day and 2-6 in their last 8 home games while the over is 13-5-1 in their last 19 games as a home favorite. Houston is 10-4 in the last 14 meetings between these two teams.
It’s not often that you’ll get the Astros and Greinke at plus money, but I think this line is a representation of where we are now. The Blue Jays are hitting the ball well with their young core and have their ace on the mound in Ryu. Houston’s got a solid team in their own right, but the Astros have a travel disadvantage while the Jays were off on Thursday so I’ll lean Toronto’s way in this one.
