Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees: Odds, Prediction
Breathing down Boston’s neck for the final AL wild card spot, the Toronto Blue Jays play the second of a four-game set in the Bronx on Tuesday night against the New York Yankees. The Jays’ 8-0 win on Monday afternoon helped them jump past Seattle in the standings and they now sit just three games back of the Red Sox in the wild card race.
The Yankees are -215 favourites to win on the MLB odds, with Toronto coming in as a +215 underdog. The total is 8.5.
Betting Analysis
It’s been an incredibly tight season series between these teams, but Monday’s win gives Toronto a 7-6 edge so far, this year. Nine of the 13 games have gone Under the total, including two of the last three.
The Under has been a trend for Toronto lately. The total has gone Under in 13 of the Jays’ last 17 games overall and four of their last five on the road. Toronto has jumped back into the wild card race with eight wins in their last nine games and five straight wins over AL East opponents. They’re 71-65 against the spread overall, including 36-31 ATS on the road.
The Yankees have thrived in the Bronx this year and Monday was only New York’s fourth loss in their last 13 home games. The total has gone Under in six of their last seven home games against Toronto and four of their last five overall. New York has dropped seven of their last nine games against AL East opponents. They’re 66-71 ATS overall, including 29-39 ATS at home.
Toronto Blue Jays
Monday was a massive win for Toronto as they look to stay afloat in the AL wild card race. Hyun Jin Ryu was on the mound, striking out six batters and allowing three hits in six innings of work. Guerrero finished with three hits, including his 40th bomb of the year, making him and his Hall of Fame father just the second father-son duo ever to each hit 40 homers in a season. Guerrero is also riding a career-high 14-game hitting streak. Marcus Semien went deep twice, while Teoscar Hernandez had a solo shot in the ninth.
Steven Matz is set to make his 25th start of the season on Tuesday. Matz has put together a 10-7 record with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.341 WHIP. In 113 total innings of work, he’s walked 36 batters and struck out 116. Matz didn’t get the decision in his last start against Oakland last Wednesday. He allowed two runs on five hits over five innings, walking four and striking out five in Toronto’s 5-4 win. This will be Matz’s ninth career appearance against the Yankees and seventh start. In 34 1/3 total innings, Matz is 2-3 all-time against New York, with a 5.77 ERA and a 1.427 WHIP, with nine walks and 35 strikeouts.
New York Yankees
The Yankees currently hold the first wild card spot, but they only hold a half game lead over Boston and a 3.5 game lead over Toronto, so this is a big series for New York. They’ve now dropped seven of their last nine games following their first 13-game winning streak since 1961. The Yankees struck out 10 times on Monday and only had one at-bat with runners in scoring position. Joey Gallo, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton (their 2-3-4 hitters) finished a combined 0-11. Jameson Taillon pitched seven innings, allowing three runs and three hits. It was his second straight loss following a 15-game unbeaten streak.
Gerrit Cole will make his 26th start of the year on Tuesday. Cole comes in with a 14-6 record on the year. In 155 total innings of work, he has a 2.73 ERA and a 0.968 WHIP. Cole has walked 32 batters and sits second in the majors with 215 strikeouts. His last start was a 4-1 Yankees win on the road against the Angels last Wednesday. He allowed one run on four hits with no walks over seven innings and recorded a monstrous 15 strikeouts. This will be Cole’s eighth career start against Toronto. He’s 5-0 against the Jays with a 2.64 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. In 44 1/3 career innings of work against Toronto, Cole has walked nine batters and picked up 51 strikeouts.
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