Toronto Blue Jays vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: Odds, Prediction
It’s back on the road for the Toronto Blue Jays starting Friday night as they open a three-game series at the NL Central cellar-dwelling Pittsburgh Pirates. The Jays are heavy favourites on the MLB odds for the opener and will be favoured in each game.
Betting Analysis
This starts the longest remaining road trip of the season for Toronto with three in Pittsburgh, four in Baltimore and three in Texas. The Blue Jays are 32-30 away.
The Pirates have one of the nicest ballparks in the major leagues, but they are a small-market team through and through and are always going to have one of MLB’s lowest payrolls. Manager Derek Shelton is in his third year and hasn’t sniffed a .500 record, so he might not be back in 2023. There is some young position player talent on the roster, however, led by 6-foot-7 shortstop O’Neil Cruz, the tallest every-day shortstop in MLB history. He’s a future All-Star but a current liability on defence. The pitching staff needs a lot of work.
These teams haven’t played since 2017 – they do face off a few times each spring training — or in Pittsburgh since 2014. The Jays will go back to PNC Park from May 5-7, 2023.
Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto was a big favourite Wednesday with a chance to sweep the visiting Cubs, but Mitch White was not good and the Jays lost 7-5. That dropped the team to 9-6 against NL teams this season. With Alejandro Kirk surpassing the 50-RBI mark in the sixth inning, the Blue Jays now have seven players with at least 50 RBIs, tied with the Dodgers for the most in the majors.
Alek Manoah (12-7, 2.60 ERA) is on the mound Friday for Toronto – the Jays have lost his past four outings, but he has been excellent the previous two in allowing a combined two earned runs and eight hits over 13 innings against the Angels and Yankees. The right-hander is 6-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 13 road starts. He has never faced the Pirates. Toronto is 10-1 in its past 11 following an off day.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh has just two wins in its past 11 games and was held to three runs or fewer in most of those. The Bucs are batting .220 as a team, second-worst in the majors. The team’s leading hitter is outfielder Bryan Reynolds at just .256. He also leads with 21 homers and 48 RBIs.
Journeyman right-hander Tyler Beede (1-4, 4.93 ERA) gets the call on the mound Friday, his 23rd appearance of the season and sixth start. Beede probably won’t go more than four innings as he hasn’t yet this year. In his past two starts, he has given up a combined 11 runs on 11 hits in seven innings. Only a few Blue Jays have faced the career National Leaguer. Raimel Tapia is 2-for-5 with a double, and Matt Chapman is 1-for-2 with a solo homer. Pittsburgh is 7-19 in its past 26 series openers.
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