The Toronto Blue Jays have essentially given up on this season and won’t be a good team to back most nights. The Jays aren’t sure who their starting pitcher will be Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays, but Toronto will certainly be an MLB Betting underdog regardless.
How to Bet Blue Jays vs Rays MLB Odds & Game Info
- When: Wednesday, 1:10 PM ET
- Where: Tropicana Field
- Probable pitchers (away/home): TBA/Brendan McKay
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: 95.3 WDAE
- MLB Odds: Tampa Bay Rays -205 (Total 8.5)
2019 MLB Postseason Betting Predictions After the Trade Deadline
Weather Forecast
- Isolated Thunderstorms: 29°C/85°F
- Humidity: 73%
- Precipitation: 33%
- Cloud Cover: 66%
- Wind: 9 mph W
- Stadium Type: Indoor
Why Bet on Toronto?
On Monday, rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named AL Player of the Week in what likely won’t be the last time the future superstar wins that award. It already was the second time he has done so, becoming the first Blue Jays rookie to win the honor twice. Having the family heritage set the table for him, expectations for Vlad Jr. have been sky high ever since he was signed by the Blue Jays on July 2, 2015, as a 16-year-old.
Guerrero is sporting a .279 batting average, 13 home runs and 49 runs driven in. He boasts an on-base percentage of .352 and a slugging percentage of .468, good for an OPS of .819. With Guerrero, Cavan Biggio and Bo Bichette, two other sons of great ballplayers (Craig Biggio and Dante Bichette), the Blue Jays have a ton of promise to look forward to on their roster. Bichette has been red-hot of late leading off for the Jays. On Monday, he joined Carlos Delgado as the only Blue Jays to hit three home runs in their first eight career games.
Derek Law got the save for the Blue Jays on Monday after getting four outs in a two-run game. With Ken Giles on a structured workload for the moment, Law has gotten the Jays’ last two saves. He’s been the choice to close even though he has just one hold all season and his ERA has typically hovered in the 6.00 range.
The Jays are down to one healthy starting pitcher in Trent Thornton, so they will go with a bullpen day here or call someone up. The team did just recall pitcher Brock Stewart while optioning Yennsy Diaz back to the minors. The Blue Jays plucked Stewart on waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline and sent him to Triple-A Buffalo. Stewart never made an appearance for the herd before being summoned back to the majors. Stewart made three relief appearances for the Dodgers this season allowing eight earned runs in four innings of work. Stewart will be the 33rd pitcher the Blue Jays have utilized when he takes the ball for manager Charlie Montoyo.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.46
- Hits: 8.09
- Walks: 3.10
- Strike Outs: 9.07
- Runs: 5.01
- Hits: 9.05
- Walks: 3.68
- Strike Outs: 8.12
Why Bet on Tampa Bay?
The Rays haven’t lost a series against the Blue Jays since Aug 14-17, 2017 at Toronto, going 9-0-1 in series play since then (5-0-0 here). The Rays have won the season series in nine of the last 11 years.
Tampa Bay has held a lead in 92 games this season. In their losses, the Rays have allowed the go-ahead run in the 8th inning or later 17 times and the 9th inning or later 14 times. Rays relievers have allowed either a game-tying or go-ahead homer in the 7th inning or later 15 times this season, including 11 times since July 5 (five game-tying, six go-ahead homers since then).
The Rays have lost yet another starting pitcher to the injured list in Yonny Chirinos. Chirinos won’t throw for the next two weeks and is expected to be sidelined for four-plus weeks. His right middle finger injury is apparently more serious than initially thought. Chirinos was placed on the injured list Monday and might struggle to make it back before the end of August. He joins Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow on the injured list among starting pitchers.
It’s rookie Brendan McKay on the mound. The Rays have taken advantage of McKay’s minor-league options to shuttle him in and out of the rotation when the team has lighter schedules, but he’ll stick around with the big club for the foreseeable future with ace Blake Snell on the mend from elbow surgery. McKay has posted a 4.38 ERA (3.53 FIP) to go with a strong 22.6 K-BB% in his first five big-league starts. The left-hander is 1-1 with a 5.65 ERA in three home starts this season.
McKay has been working this season under a six-day pitching schedule, compared to a five-day schedule that most starters in the MLB follow. This additional day helps limit McKay’s innings over the span of a full season. McKay has yet to throw 90 pitches in an outing this season, although he has thrown six innings in four games this year between Double-A and the MLB level.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.71
- Hits: 8.89
- Walks: 3.41
- Strike Outs: 9.39
- Runs: 3.88
- Hits: 7.82
- Walks: 2.83
- Strike Outs: 9.68
Blue Jays vs Rays MLB Betting Trends
- Blue Jays are 12-32 in their last 44 road games vs. a left-handed starter
- Rays are 4-0 in their last 4 during game 3 of a series
- Blue Jays are 8-4 SU in their last 12 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toronto’s last 5 games played on a Wednesday
- Rays are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay’s last 7 games against an opponent in the American League
Expert Final Score Prediction for Blue Jays vs Rays
Score: Toronto Blue Jays 3 – Tampa Bay Rays 4
