The Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays meet Monday in MLB action from Rogers Centre. Texas is coming off a weekend series versus the A’s. The Rangers lost Friday by three runs, then in game two eked out a victory. In the Sunday matchup Texas bagged a five-run victory. As for Toronto, they played the Royals in their last series and eked out a win in the opener. On Saturday the Jays kept it going with another win, then in the finale Toronto notched a three-run victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Texas Rangers
The Rangers had a brief 3-2 lead in the Friday opener of their weekend series versus the A’s, but ultimately fell 6-3. On Saturday Texas had just five team hits but still managed to pull off a 3-2 win. In the Sunday finale the Rangers had 12 team hits in a 9-4 victory. Marcus Semien put up two solo homers, four hits and three runs in the win.
In the starter slot for the Monday game the Rangers are going with Dane Dunning. This year in 30 games (21 starts) Dunning is 9-6 with a 3.88 ERA and 115 Ks in 146.0 innings. Dunning is 1-2 with a 5.54 ERA over his last seven starts.
Texas Rangers Team Facts
- The Rangers have lost 11 of their last 12 night games against the Blue Jays following a win.
- The Rangers have failed to cover the run line 14 of their last 15 games against teams that held a winning record.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Rangers’ last five road games.
- The Rangers have led after 5 innings in four of their last six games as road underdogs against American League opponents.
- The Rangers have led after 7 innings in 13 of their last 19 games as road underdogs against American League opponents.
Toronto Blue Jays
Over on the Blue Jays’ side, they scored four in the seventh inning Friday versus Kansas City, resulting in a 5-4 win. In game two Toronto got two homers and four RBI from George Springer in a 5-1 win. In the finale the Jays had a 2-0 deficit in the sixth but ultimately came back for the 5-2 win. Santiago Espinal, Cavan Biggio and Kevin Kiermaier (homer) each had an RBI.
As starting pitcher for Monday’s game the Jays will go with Chris Bassitt. Over 29 starts in 2023 Bassitt sits at 14-7 with a 3.69 ERA. In his last seven starts Bassitt is 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 40 Ks in 46.2 frames.
Toronto Blue Jays Team Facts
- The Blue Jays have won each of their last six night games against the Rangers following a home win.
- The Blue Jays have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight night games at Rogers Centre following a home win.
- The Blue Jays have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last six Monday games against opponents that held a winning record.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Blue Jays’ last seven games.
- The Blue Jays have led after 7 innings in each of their last five night games against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Toronto Blue Jays ranks 1st in the league for ERA this season (3.66).
- The Toronto Blue Jays ranks 2nd in the league for strikeouts this season (1342).
- The Texas Rangers ranks 2nd in the league for hits this season (1313).
- The Texas Rangers ranks 2nd in the league for doubles this season (297).
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll stay with the Jays in this one. Bassitt is looking good over his last two starts. He’s gone 8.0 innings and won each, totaling just one earned on 10 hits and one walk in 16.0 frames. If Bassitt can get deep into this one as well, Toronto will be set. As for Dunning, he’s coming off nine earned in 5.1 innings versus Houston but should be able to bounce back here. On Sunday Toronto took a while to get going on offense—and only had six hits total—but everything worked out well. The Jays only used three bullpen arms so they should be set up for this series in that regard.
