Oakland Athletics vs. Toronto Blue Jays: Odds, Prediction
The Jays are heavy favourites for the opener on the MLB odds. Friday is Jackie Robinson Day around the majors.
Betting Analysis
No team in the majors saw its over-under betting win total drop more this spring from its opening to its close than the A’s because they traded away most of their best players in Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea. Of course, Chapman was sent to Toronto. Oakland also declined to re-sign several free agents and added little other than prospects in those trades. This is ownership saying it is going cheap unless the city of Oakland builds a new stadium. If that doesn’t happen, the A’s are moving to Las Vegas just like Oakland’s NFL franchise did.
Oakland’s best remaining starting pitcher, Frankie Montas, is all but a lock to be dealt by this summer but the Jays will miss him. A’s outfielder Ramon Laureano, a solid player, is still serving an 80-game PED suspension from last year.
Toronto won five of seven meetings vs. Oakland last season including all three at home – the Jays scored at least eight runs in each of those. The A’s have won just seven of their past 26 in Toronto.
Oakland Athletics
Oakland did the Blue Jays a favour in the AL East to open this week by winning three of four at the defending division champion Tampa Bay Rays in a pretty big surprise. All three wins by the A’s were by double digits and their lone loss in extra innings. Closer Lou Trivino was unavailable Thursday after pitching the previous two days but should be fine for Friday.
Right-hander Daulton Jefferies (1-0, 0.00) is on the mound here for Oakland, just his eighth career big-league appearance and fourth start. He was very good last Sunday in Philadelphia in getting a victory, shutting out the Phillies on two hits over five. He needed only 48 pitches (30 strikes) to reach five. Jefferies had really struggled this spring. The 26-year-old has faced the Jays once, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings of relief last September in Toronto.
Toronto Blue Jays
DH Teoscar Hernandez will be out for a while after straining his oblique in Wednesday’s game at the Yankees. Hernandez was placed on the injured list Thursday. He’s hitting .316 with a homer and three RBIs. Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. both hammered A’s pitching last season, with Bichette batting .429 and Guerrero .400, although neither homered. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had two homers and 11 RBIs in the season series. Guerrero Jr. had a memorable game at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday with a three-homer game. It was his eighth career multi-homer game, becoming one of 25 players in the modern era (since 1900) with at least eight before turning 24. Guerrero Jr. was the second-youngest player in MLB history at the time of his second career three-HR game (23 years, 28 days). However, Baby Vlad had his first-ever four-strikeout game Thursday.
Ross Stripling will start this game on the mound but almost surely only as an opener of sorts. He has pitched twice in relief this season, both one inning, and allowed two runs and walked three. Only a few Oakland batters have faced him career. Toronto is 6-1 in its past seven vs. AL West teams.
OAK
TOR