Both Teams Hope To Be World Series Contenders
The Toronto Blue Jays are hoping that they can get their regular season started off with a road win. Taking a look at the MLB news, they won’t be back at home until April 11, so they’ll have to have some early season road success.
It won’t be easy as they travel to meet the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards won the National League Central last year and signed Wilson Contreras in the offseason, so they still have high hopes.
Which of these teams can get the win on Thursday afternoon?
Alek Manoah Gets Nod in Toronto
The Blue Jays have given Alek Manoah the green light on the mound for their regular season opener. Manoah has gotten a solid chunk of work throughout Spring Training but is clearly still working off some recent rust from the offseason.
He appeared in five games and walked away with a 2-2 record across 20.1 innings. In that span, he allowed 16 hits and seven runs with 21 strikeouts. Those who bet online know that those numbers are off of what he’s capable of.
The strikeout numbers have been impressive, though, allowing seven earned runs in 20.1 innings needs to be improved upon.
Of course, the offense is the key to this team’s success. If you’re looking at Jay’s MLB betting, remember that they led the league in team batting average last season and were third in the American League in home runs.
That offense has to be a big part of their success in 2023.
St. Louis Giving Miles Mikolas the Start
A phenomenal run throughout Spring Training has given the Cardinals enough confidence to start Miles Mikolas on Opening Day against Toronto. Mikolas appeared in three games in Spring Training and won each, pitching a total of 12.0 innings.
Throughout those innings, he allowed eight hits without allowing a while striking out eight batters.
If you’re looking at the MLB odds here, remember that he pitched very well at home last season. He was 6-3 with a 2.38 ERA when playing in front of his own fans but plummeted down to 6-10 with a 4.10 ERA during his games on the road.
Blue Jays vs Cardinals Game Injuries
Blue Jays vs Cardinals Head-to-Head
The last two times that these squads met saw the team blow the other out. The Cardinals won 6-1 in the most recent matchup, though the day before saw the Blue Jays win 10-3.
Blue Jays vs Cardinals Game Information
- Game: Blue Jays (0-0) vs Cardinals (0-0)
- Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
- Day/Time: Thursday, March 30, 4:10 p.m. ET
- Blue Jays vs Cardinals Live stream: MLB.tv
Blue Jays vs Cardinals Betting Lines
Tigers vs Rays Picks and Prediction
This is going to be a difficult matchup to handicap for your MLB picks. Both teams are contenders on paper and both are sending out stud pitchers.
Manoah allowed a few more runs than he would ha ve hoped in Spring Training, though he was excellent a season ago. Mikolas, on the other hand, gets a home-field advantage coming off a flawless Spring Training run of his own.
Give the small edge to the Cardinals and Mikolas in this one, so take that side with your sports bets.
St. Louis is listed a +106 in our MLB lines. So, if you wager $100 on the Cardinals, there’s a chance to win $106. Toronto is -116 with a chance to win $86 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Blue Jays a 48.54% chance to win, with the Cardinals at 53.70%.
Blue Jays vs Cardinals Trends
Blue Jays vs Cardinals Edge
Blue Jays vs Cardinals Results
Blue Jays vs Cardinals Game Summary
