Toronto Blue Jays vs. Houston Astros: Odds, Prediction
The Blue Jays are -115 favourites to win on the MLB odds.
Betting Analysis
Houston plays its lone series in Toronto from June 5-8. The Astros may be defending World Series champions, but they were 2-4 vs. the Jays last season, including 1-2 at Minute Maid Park. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (now in Arizona) hit .318 in the series for Toronto with a homer and four RBIs, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was at .304 with a homer and four knocked in, and George Springer – a former World Series MVP for Houston – had three solo homers and seven runs scored. Kyle Tucker hit .400 in the series for Houston, and Alex Bregman .300 with two homers and five RBIs.
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, a former AL MVP and batting champion and future Hall of Famer, missed both Toronto series last year due to injury and is currently out with a right thumb fracture suffered in the World Baseball Classic. He is expected to return shortly before the Astros visit Toronto in early June. That Houston offence simply is not the same without Altuve leading off. The Astros also said goodbye this past offseason to reigning Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who signed with the Mets. Could Houston repeat as World Series champion? It could, but right now it’s not near as good as it was last year.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Jays couldn’t finish off the home sweep of the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday as Tampa prevailed 8-1, but the Jays still have won their past four series. Bo Bichette had two hits in the loss, his eighth multi-hit game already. That tied teammate Matt Chapman for the most among AL batters. Whit Merrifield has reached base safely in all 12 of his games, recording a hit in 10 of them. Closer Jordan Romano wasn’t used Sunday but likely wasn’t available as he was drilled by a line drive off the bat of Wander Franco on Saturday while finishing the save. Romano has been diagnosed with a right rib contusion and is day-to-day. Kevin Gausman (1-1, 1.35 ERA) takes the mound Monday. He took a no-decision last Wednesday vs. the Tigers, allowing three runs on five hits over eight innings with 11 strikeouts and zero walks. Over five career starts vs. Houston, Gausman is 2-3 with a 4.55 ERA in 29.2 innings. The Blue Jays are 6-1 in their past seven Monday games.
Houston Astros
Outfielder and leadoff Chase McCormick is dealing with a minor eye injury and is day-to-day. Second baseman Jose Altuve usually leads off but as noted above is likely out until June. Mauricio Dubón has taken advantage of the chance to play at second and is off to a red-hot start. Right-hander Cristian Javier (1-0, 4.24 ERA) is on the mound Monday. He comes off his worst outing of the year, allowing four runs over six. Last year among pitchers with at least 140 innings pitched, Javier posted the lowest opponents’ batting average in the AL (.170) and was second in strikeouts per nine innings and fourth in WHIP (0.95). Javier’s lone start vs. Toronto came in 2021 when he gave up five runs over 5.1 innings of a loss. The Jays’ Whit Merrifield is 2-for-5 off him with two solo homers. Houston is 6-0 in its past six vs. the AL East.
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