The Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays meet Wednesday in MLB action from Rogers Centre. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction.
Starting Pitching Matchup
The Tampa Bay Rays will send out Zach Eflin here and Eflin is 5-7 with a 4.14 ERA and 83 strikeouts this season. In his last five starts against Toronto, Eflin is 2-2 with a 4.75 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Yariel Rodriguez will start for Toronto here and Rodriguez is 1-3 with a 3.78 ERA and 36 strikeouts this season. This will be Rodriguez’s first career start against Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay Rays Recap
The Tampa Bay Rays will look to build some steam after starting the series with a 4-2 win over the Blue Jays in Tuesday’s series opener, putting the Rays in a good spot to keep their series unbeaten run alive after a split and series win over the Yankees sandwiching a series win over the Guardians before the all-star break.
Rays Looking To Make Playoff Push
Going into Tuesday’s matchup, Isaac Paredes has 87 hits, 16 home runs, 51 RBIs and a .252 batting average as well as a .353 OBP with 18 doubles. Yandy Diaz has 104 hits with 21 doubles while Jose Caballero has a team-high 25 stolen bases. Randy Arozarena has 15 home runs and 35 RBIs along with 98 strikeouts and 14 stolen bases. Richie Palacios also has 15 stolen bases while Jose Siri has 14 home runs, 35 RBIs and a team-high 106 strikeouts.
Why the Tampa Bay Rays will win
- The Rays have won each of their last seven Wednesday night games against AL East opponents that held a losing record.
- The Blue Jays have lost each of their last four night games against American League opponents.
- The Blue Jays have failed to cover the run line in each of their last nine games at Rogers Centre.
- The Rays have covered the run line in 10 of their last 11 games as road favorites against AL East opponents.
Toronto Blue Jays Recap
The Toronto Blue Jays will try to rebound after their series-opening defeat at the hands of the Rays. It wasn’t the ideal start for a Jays team that’s trying to snap a series losing skid that features losses to the Tigers and Diamondbacks over the last week and a half.
Blue Jays Trying To Climb Out Of AL East Basement
Entering Tuesday’s opener, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the Blue Jays with 112 hits including 21 doubles, 16 home runs and 59 RBIs along with a .292 batting average and a .361 OBP. Daulton Varsho’s chipped in 11 home runs and 38 RBIs in addition to 15 doubles. Davis Schneider has 15 doubles while George Springer has a team-high 9 stolen bases. Varsho also has a team-high 94 strikeouts and 9 stolen bases as well this season. Bo Bichette also has 16 doubles this season.
Why the Toronto Blue Jays will win
- The Rays have lost each of their last five games as favorites against AL East opponents.
- The underdogs have won four of the Blue Jays’ last five games.
- The underdogs have covered the run line in 12 of the Blue Jays’ last 13 games.
- The Rays have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight games as favorites against American League opponents following a win.
Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction
I’m on the Blue Jays here. When I was looking at this series, this to me felt like the most winnable matchup of the set as Eflin’s been absolutely terrible on the road this season and that’s really no different from his debut season with the Rays last year. If this game was in Tampa, the Rays would be a lot easier to back. But in Toronto, with Rodriguez showing signs of promise in this Blue Jays rotation, I think Toronto gets the win. Give me the Blue Jays.