Toronto Blue Jays vs Cincinnati Reds 5/21/22 MLB Picks, Predictions, Odds
Cincinnati Reds (11-26) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (20-18)
May 21, 2022 3:07 pm EDT
The Line: Toronto Blue Jays -244 / Cincinnati Reds +200; Over/Under: +8
(Get latest betting odds)
The Cincinnati Reds and the Toronto Blue Jays meet in MLB action from Rogers Centre on Saturday afternoon.
The Cincinnati Reds come into this one looking to pick up some steam against one of the better teams in the AL when they visit Toronto on Saturday. Entering Friday’s game against the Jays, Tommy Pham has a team-high 30 hits with a .240 batting average while Brandon Drury has a team-high 7 home runs and 22 RBIs with 8 doubles as well. Tyler Naquin has 10 doubles and Kyle Farmer has 9 doubles while Naquin and Colin Moran each have 21 RBIs as well this season. Hunter Greene will start here and is 1-6 with a 6.21 ERA and 44 strikeouts this season.
The Toronto Blue Jays will try to hold serve at home with one of their better starters on the bump to kick off the weekend. Heading into Friday’s matchup, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette each have 38 hits with Guerrero Jr. logging 7 home runs and 21 RBIs with Bichette adding 7 doubles, 4 home runs and 16 RBIs. Santiago Espinal and George Springer each have 35 hits with Espinal logging a team-high 12 doubles while Springer has 7 doubles and 7 homers and 21 RBIs of his own as well this season. Alek Manoah will start here and is 4-1 with a 1.71 ERA and 39 strikeouts this season.
Cincinnati is 16-36 in their last 52 road games and 10-25 in their last 35 games as an underdog while the over is 10-1-1 in their last 12 games against a team with a winning record.
I get the allure of backing Cincinnati at sizeable plus money, but the reality here is that Hunter Greene just hasn’t been able to catch a break, as the Reds have lost his last six starts, as has Greene himself, and you hit a new low, when you lose a game but don’t allow a hit. The Blue Jays have hit a bit of a bumpy patch, but Alek Manoah’s the cornerstone and what I think is the ace of this Blue Jays rotation although he won’t get the recognition of a pitcher like Gausman or Berrios. I like the Blue Jays to get a big win behind Manoah here, so give me the Blue Jays -1.5 here.