Toronto Blue Jays (48-44) vs. New York Mets (50-43)
July 23, 2021 7:10 pm EDT
The Line: New York Mets -119 / Toronto Blue Jays +109; Over/Under: 9
(Get latest betting odds)
The Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets meet in MLB action from Citi Field on Friday night.
The Toronto Blue Jays will look to rebound from a 7-4 loss at the hands of the Boston Red Sox in their last game. All of the Blue Jays’ scoring came via the long ball as George Springer had a two-run home run while Teoscar Hernandez and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. each had a solo shot to make up the scoring for the Jays in the losing effort. Danny Jansen added a double as well as the Jays mustered up just five hits as a team in defeat. Robbie Ray took the loss, falling to 8-5 on the year after allowing four runs on five hits while striking out four over five innings of work. Steven Matz will start here and is 8-4 with a 4.43 ERA and 84 strikeouts this season. This will be Matz’s first career start against the Mets.
The New York Mets will try to build on their 7-0 win over the Reds last time out. Dominic Smith led the charge with a grand slam while Luis Guillorme had a two-run home run and Jonathan Villar added a solo blast to make up the scoring for the Mets in the win. Tomas Nido added a double while Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo all had base hits as well to cap off the offense for the Mets in the victory. Marcus Stroman got the win to improve to 7-8 on the year after tossing eight shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out seven. Tylor Megill will start here and is 0-0 with a 2.63 ERA and 28 strikeouts this season. This will be Megill’s first career start against Toronto.
Toronto is 1-5 in their last 6 games against a team with a winning record and 3-8 in their last 11 Friday games while the over is 8-0 in their last 8 games against a right-handed starter. New York is 5-0 in their last 5 series-opening games and 13-4 in their last 17 games against a team with a winning record while the under is 9-1 in their last 10 home games against a left-handed starter.
I get the case that could be made for either side here, but I think Matz is the x-factor. The Mets know him and his stuff from his time with the team and vice versa, Matz knows these guys and what they deal well with and what they don’t. I think this will play to Matz’s favor and he will have a solid outing. On the other hand, the Mets start Tylor Megill who has been good and the under has been dominant for the Mets at home this season. Give me the under in what I think ends up being a surprising pitcher’s duel.
