Tampa Bay Rays vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction 3-28-24 Picks

The Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays meet Thursday in MLB action at Tropicana Field. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Blue Jays vs Rays prediction.

Toronto Blue Jays Betting Preview

The Blue Jays have made the playoffs in three of the last four seasons and enter the second full season under manager John Schneider. The Blue Jays snagged Justin Turner and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in free agency to create a scary lineup that already had George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. The Blue Jays can score with anybody in MLB and a starting rotation that includes Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi is great as well. The Blue Jays are a contender in a competitive AL East, and they’re a team I will have a future bet on to win the World Series. The Blue Jays are a dark horse team that could win its first title since the 1993 season. Jose Berrios gets the ball, and he was 11-12 with a 3.65 ERA and 184 strikeouts last season. Berrios is 3-4 with a 4.91 ERA and 47 strikeouts in his career against the Rays. The Blue Jays will play against the Astros in the next series.

Tampa Bay Rays Betting Preview

The Rays have made the playoffs in each of the last five years and enter the 10th season under manager Kevin Cash. The Rays will look a little different from last year, mainly in the rotation, but the lineup still features Yandy Diaz, Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes. That’s an impressive trio from one of the best offenses in baseball as a year ago. The Rays starting rotation has a solid 1-2 punch in Zach Eflin and Aaron Civil, but it does lose some depth with Tyler Glasnow now in LA. The Rays probably aren’t as good as they’ve been in past years, but there’s still talent in Tampa and this team is well coached. I wouldn’t write off the Rays just yet, even though the AL East hasn’t gotten any easier. Zach Eflin gets the ball, and he was 16-8 with a 3.50 ERA and 186 strikeouts last season. Eflin is 2-2 with a 5.64 ERA and 20 strikeouts in his career against the Blue Jays. The Rays will face the Rangers following this series.

Tampa Bay Rays Team Facts

• The Rays have won each of their last 10 Thursday day home games.
• The Rays have failed to cover the run line in each of their last seven games at Tropicana Field.
• The Rays have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last three games as home favorites against American League opponents.
• The Rays have trailed after 7 innings in six of their last seven games as home favorites against American League opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Rays’ last seven day games against AL East opponents.

Toronto Blue Jays Team Facts

• The Blue Jays have won five of their last six road openers as underdogs against AL East opponents.
• The Blue Jays have covered the run line in each of their last six road openers against AL East opponents.
• The Blue Jays have led after 5 innings in four of their last six road openers as underdogs against AL East opponents.
• The Blue Jays have lost the first inning in each of their last five games against opponents that held a winning record at Tropicana Field.
• The Blue Jays have led after 7 innings in six of their last nine games as road underdogs against AL East opponents.

Blue Jays vs Rays prediction

Berrios and Eflin are great pitchers and could mow things down in this opener, but they’ve also had trouble against the respective team. Eflin in particular, as he’s giving up a .246 batting average and .587 OPS in 57 at bats against Blue Jays hitters. The Blue Jays and Rays both have terrific batting orders, and each of the last five meetings between them have produced double-digit run totals. I expect some offense in this game, and this is a low total. Give me the over.