Teams Seeking Bounce-Back Wins
The Tampa Bay Rays won three straight from the Pittsburgh Pirates ahead of their last two meetings with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Rays were unable to prevail against the Brewers, giving them a mini two-game losing streak entering a visit to the Toronto Blue Jays.
As for the Blue Jays, they were able to get two incredible wins against the Boston Red Sox before dropping the series finale in extra innings.
Taking a look at the MLB betting odds for this American League East rivalry, which side is the best bet?
Let’s check the latest MLB picks, stats, news injury reports and MLB odds for Rays vs Blue Jays. We’ve plenty of MLB predictions.
Rays Going to Lean on Pitching
The Rays are sending Jeffrey Springs to the mound for this date with the Blue Jays. If you bet online, note that Springs has put together a solid 3-2 record with an ERA of 2.25.
Plus, he’s been able to strike out 65 batters in 60.0 innings of work. The Tampa Bay Rays have won every single time he’s been on the mound this month (five times) and 10 of his last 12.
Springs actually pitched against the Blue Jays earlier in the season. He pitched 4.2 innings and didn’t allow a single run during the team’s 3-0 victory. There’s no doubt that this group wants to put up a similar performance.
It is worth highlighting that his last two outings have been among his roughest – even though they haven’t been that bad. He’s only allowed 15 earned runs but seven of them came in his last two starts.
Blue Jays Don’t Want to Drop Consecutive Games
The Toronto Blue Jays plan to do whatever it takes to avoid losing two straight. They are going to be starting Yusei Kikuchi, who has had a rough stretch lately and is 2-4 overall with an ERA of 5.08.
He’s also lost three straight games in which he’s started. It’s safe to say he’s had some trouble getting back into rhythm.
Kikuchi has been better when getting home-field advantage. His only two registered wins and both came when he was at home. Still, his ERA remained a high 5.12.
He’s going to need to be better than those stats show if they want to take down the Rays.
Rays vs Blue Jays Head-to-Head
The Rays have won two out of the three games they’ve played against the Blue Jays this season.
Rays vs Blue Jays Game Information
- Game: Rays (40-34) vs Blue Jays (42-33)
- Location: Rogers Centre, Ontario, Canada
- Day/Time: Thursday, 7:07 p.m. ET
- Rays vs Blue Jays Live Stream: MLB.tv
Rays vs Blue Jays Betting Lines
| Team | Handicap | Moneyline | Total | Team Total |
| Tampa Bay Rays
M. Wisler -R |
+1½ -165 | +125 | 9 -125o | 4½ +105o
4½ -135u |
| Toronto Blue Jays
Y. Kikuchi -L |
-1½ +145 | -140 | 9 +105u | 4½ -110o
4½ -120u |
Rays vs Blue Jays Prediction
It’s hard to roll with the Blue Jays in this game after looking at these two starting pitchers on paper. Kikuchi has been on the wrong side of a game in three straight starts, with a poor ERA of 5.08 overall.
Meanwhile, Springs is at a sparkling ERA of 2.25 and didn’t allow a single run in 4.2 innings against Toronto earlier in the season. His impact should be far greater than Kikuchi and Tampa Bay should wind up winning.
At the same time, if you’re looking at the total in the sportsbook, the over makes sense. Springs has cooled off of late while Kikuchi tends to give up runs in bunches. We could see a high-scoring affair here, so go over with your MLB picks.
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