Toronto Blue Jays vs. San Francisco Giants: Odds, Prediction
The Giants opening as -122 favourites on the MLB odds behind reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell.
Betting Analysis
Since the Giants won 107 games in 2021 but lost in the NL Division Series to the Dodgers, the team has stumbled into mediocrity. San Francisco probably will never be a tanking team because it has a beautiful ballpark it needs to fill, but the team is not close to World Series contention right now. It could sneak into the playoffs as a wild-card team.
The Giants have come up short chasing marquee free agents such as Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani in the past couple of off-seasons but did sign former Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman this past March to a three-year, $54 million (US) free-agent deal with opt-outs after each of the first two years. Chapman is having an OK season at the plate, batting .244 with 12 homers and 42 RBIs. Starting pitcher Logan Webb, the 2023 NL Cy Young runner-up, and outfielder Heliot Ramos were named to the NL All-Star team.
This is the only scheduled series of the season between the clubs. Last year, the Jays took two of three at home. They last visited San Francisco in 2019 and split two games.
Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto took two of three at AL West-leading Seattle over the weekend, winning each of the final two games by 5-4 scores. The Jays are now 11-15 in one-run games this year and 20-25 on the road. Spencer Horwitz stayed hot Sunday by going 3-for-5, the second time in four games he had three hits. Horwitz leads the club with a .329 average. Well, technically rookie infielder Leo Jimenez, 23, leads the club with a .500 average. Jimenez played in just his second big-league game Sunday and was 2-for-3, his first two MLB hits. He may continue to see regular action while Isiah Kiner-Falefa is on the injured list.
Lefty Yusei Kikuchi (4-8, 4.12 ERA) takes the mound Tuesday. He was solid last time out in a no-decision vs. Houston, allowing two runs over 5.2 innings. But after a really strong start to the season, Kikuchi has a 6.50 ERA and 1.61 WHIP over his past eight appearances. Having spent his entire career in the AL, Kikuchi has only faced the Giants once, in April 2021, and allowed three runs over six innings in Seattle while with the Mariners in a no-decision. Matt Chapman has seen him the most of any Giants batter and is 5-for-16 with two solo homers.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants can’t seem to get over the hump of a .500 record and make a move up the NL wild-card board. They were 44-45 until losing the final two games of a weekend series in Cleveland – both by 5-4 scores. San Francisco also made a minor trade Sunday in sending pitcher Alex Young to Cincinnati for outfielder Austin Slater, but that’s not going to improve a mediocre lineup. Two regulars in infielder Thairo Estrada and first baseman Wilmer Flores are currently on the IL.
Lefty Blake Snell won the 2023 NL Cy Young Award with San Diego but there was not a robust market for him in free agency this offseason because Snell did have some concerns with his control after walking a whopping 99 batters last year as well. The Giants seemed to do well by getting Snell for only $62 million (U.S.) over two years, but he has been a mega-bust at 0-3 with a 9.51 ERA and 1.94 WHIP in six starts. Because Snell signed so late in the spring, that may have played a role in his disappointing numbers and then he landed on the IL with a groin injury – he will be activated to start Tuesday. The Giants could use some length from Snell considering their bullpen has thrown an MLB-high 141 1/3 innings since he was placed on the injured list on June 3.
“Our bullpen has continued to step up, and we’re excited to get Blake back in there and some guys who can go deeper in games to take some pressure off our bullpen,” Manager Bob Melvin said.
Snell is 4-4 with a 2.74 ERA in 14 career starts vs. Toronto.
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