For the first time since his first full season in the major leagues while with the White Sox, Boston lefty Chris Sale is not an All-Star. He’s still among the MLB leaders in strikeouts and the Red Sox are solid MLB Betting favorites behind Sale on Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
How to Bet Red Sox vs Blue Jays MLB Lines & Game Info
- When: Wednesday, 7:07 PM ET
- Where: Rogers Centre
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Chris Sale/Sean Reid-Foley
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: TBJRN
- MLB Lines: Boston Red Sox -245 (Total 9)
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Why Bet on Boston?
The Sox remain without first baseman, Mitch Moreland. He is about three weeks removed from a right quad strain and he was on the injured list prior to that with a back strain. There’s no timetable for when he might be game-ready.
Boston is about to get some bullpen help. Heath Hembree was activated from the injured list on Tuesday. Hembree has been on the shelf since June 14 — retroactive to June 11 — due to a right elbow extensor strain. The right-handed reliever was pitching to a 2.51 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 35/12 K/BB ratio in 28 2/3 innings prior to his elbow issue.
In addition, the Sox are calling up pitching prospect Trevor Kelley. The sidearm right-hander has been downright dominant against left-handed batters at Triple-A Pawtucket this season — holding such opposing batters to a minuscule .077/.172/.115 batting line — and a bit more generous to right-handers — allowing a .282/.347/.388 batting line on that front. On the whole, Kelley owns a 0.96 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 34/12 K/BB ratio in 37 2/3 Triple-A innings this year.
The Red Sox bullpen has 17 blown saves this season — only the imploding Mets (with 21) have more in MLB. RHP Brandon Workman (7-1, 1.70 ERA, 1.03 WHIP) has been stellar, and RHP Marcus Walden (6-0, 2.66 ERA, 1.02 WHIP) has been good, but the rest of the bullpen, not so much
It’s Chris Sale on the mound here. Sale struck out 10 but allowed five runs on six hits with one walk across six innings during a no-decision against the White Sox last Wednesday. The 30-year-old continues to rack up the strikeouts, but wins have been harder to come by. While he owns 60 strikeouts in his last six starts, Sale has gone just 2-1 during that stretch. His ERA has improved in the last six outings, but it’s still greater than his preseason expectations. Sale is 3-7 with a 3.82 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 148 strikeouts in 101.1 innings this season. Sale has held opponents to a .212 average this season.
The ace makes his final start of what has been an inconsistent first half. He does it at a venue where he’s dominated in his career, going 5-1 with a 1.60 ERA in nine appearances at Rogers Centre.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 5.56
- Hits: 9.62
- Walks: 3.87
- Strike Outs: 8.41
Defense
- Runs: 4.98
- Hits: 8.65
- Walks: 3.40
- Strike Outs: 10.21
Why Bet on Toronto?
How hot has outfielder Lourdes Gurriel been of late? On Monday, he had three more hits. It was his fourth three-hit game in his last 10 appearances, and the 25-year-old has upped his average from .280 to .318 in large part because of it. One of the hits was a double — the 13th of the year for the right-handed hitter — and his OPS is up to 1.009. For the month of June, the 25-year-old finished 2nd in total bases in the AL at 71. He hit .337 (35-for-104), good for 10th, while ranked 2nd in home runs (10), 3rd in SLG (.683), T-4th in hits (35) and 6th in OPS (1.063).
Toronto batters have hit an MLB-low .211 while at home this season. They rank 30th in-home OBP (.274), 26th in SLG (.399) and 27th in OPS (.674). The Jays have scored 3.90 runs/game in home contests (14th in the AL). Blue Jays pitchers have posted a 4.96 ERA while at home this year (8th in the AL).
Sean Reid-Foley (0-1) will take his turn in the rotation against Boston after impressing in his first start after being recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday. Reid-Foley gave up two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three in 5.1 innings Friday against the Royals. He did not factor in the decision. It was just the third time in nine MLB starts that Reid-Foley logged five or more innings while allowing two or fewer runs. Reid-Foley has decent stuff, but his shaky command has held him back thus far as a big leaguer.
Reid-Foley was one of the top pitching prospects in the game just a few years ago, but his stock has fallen a bit since then. Despite striking out 10 batters per nine in Triple-A this year, he pitched to a rough 5.87 ERA thanks to major control issues that have plagued him throughout the season. This will be Boston’s first look at the righty, who did make seven major-league starts in 2018 as well. He’ll throw a fastball that can get up to the mid-90s as well as a pair of breaking balls.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.33
- Hits: 7.84
- Walks: 3.12
- Strike Outs: 9.15
- Runs: 5.27
- Hits: 9.16
- Walks: 3.78
- Strike Outs: 8.24
Red Sox vs Blue Jays MLB Betting Trends
- Over is 6-0-1 in the last 7 meetings in Toronto
- Red Sox are 4-1 in Sale’s last 5 road starts vs. Blue Jays
- Red Sox are 10-1 SU in their last 11 games on the road
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston’s last 5 games this season
- Blue Jays are 3-7 SU in their last 10 games played in July
- The total has gone OVER in 7 of Toronto’s last 8 games when playing at home against Boston
Expert Final Score Prediction for Red Sox vs Blue Jays
Boston Red Sox 5 – Toronto Blue Jays 4
