Yankees vs Blue Jays MLB | Stellar Pitching Matchup

It’s a terrific pitching matchup in a huge game in the AL wild-card race on Wednesday when Gerrit Cole and the Yankees visit Jose Berrios and the Blue Jays. New York is favored on the MLB odds – the Yanks are pretty much always favored when Cole is on the mound.

How to Bet Yankees at Blue Jays MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Wednesday, 7:07 PM ET
Where: Rogers Centre
Probable pitchers (away/home): Gerrit Cole/Jose Berrios
TV: ESPN
Stream/gameday audio: ESPN app
Opening MLB Lines: Yankees -120, Blue Jays +110 (total 8.5)

Why Bet on New York?

The Yankees have recorded 42 come-from-behind wins this season, tied with San Francisco (42) for the third-most in the Majors, trailing only Boston (46) and Tampa Bay (46).

Excellent Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga (9-4, 2.25 ERA) landed Sept. 5 on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder strain but is expected to be activated no later than Wednesday. Through 68 innings pitched over 54 games in 2021, Loaisiga has yielded 19 runs (17 earned) on 55 hits (three home runs) while striking out 66 and walking 15.

In his past 49 games, Yanks slugger Giancarlo Stanton has 18 homers and 47 RBIs, with a .320 batting average and an OPS of 1.024. “It’s go time,” Stanton said. “This is what it’s all about, this is the most important time, and I’m glad things are clicking.” Stanton has hit .356/.473/.889 (16-for-45) with 11R, 6 doubles, 6HR, 9RBI and 10BB in 12 career games at Rogers Centre.

It’s ace Gerrit Cole (16-8) on the mound. Cole surrendered three runs in six innings Friday in a victory over the Red Sox. He was pitching a shutout until Rafael Devers hit a three-run homer in the sixth. The quality start was Cole’s first in four outings and his 18th of the year, and he’ll take a 3.08 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 237:41 K:BB through 175.1 innings into what’s likely to be his final start of the regular season Wednesday. He would be set up to pitch in the wild-card game.

Cole’s 237 strikeouts are the third-most by a Yankee in a single season in club history, trailing only Ron Guidry (248K in 35GS in 1978) and Jack Chesbro (239K in 55G/51GS in 1904). He is 6-2 with a 3.00 ERA (45.0IP, 15ER) and 61K in his last eight starts (since 8/16) since being reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list. Cole has allowed one-or-zero runs in five of his last eight starts and 3ER-or-fewer in seven of those starts.

Why Bet on Toronto?

Entering this series, Toronto batters are 2nd in the AL in home AVG (.271), home SLG (.479), home OPS (.815) and runs/game at home (5.49). The pitching staff has posted a 3.87 ERA during home contests (7th in the AL) to go with a .234 opponents’ AVG (6th) and a 1.22 WHIP (7th).

Marcus Semien (7) and Bo Bichette (6) are the 2nd middle infield duo in MLB history to hit at least six HR apiece against the same opponent (NYY) in a season, joining Ben Zobrist (6) and Addison Russell (7) vs. CIN in 2016.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has reached base safely in all 16 games against the Yankees this year, batting .339 (20-for-59) with a double, five home runs and seven RBI (.610 SLG). He holds a .309 (51-for-165) average over 43 career games, including eight doubles, two triples, eight homers and 26 RBI (.894 OPS) against the Yanks. Teoscar Hernández is 15-for-44 (.341) in his 12 games vs. New York this season, including two doubles, two home runs and four RBI.

Before Tuesday’s game, the Blue Jays reinstated third baseman Cavan Biggio from the 10-day injured list (mid-back tightness) and optioned LHP Ryan Borucki to Triple-A Buffalo. Biggio has only managed to appear in 77 games for the Blue Jays. He was diagnosed with a Grade 1 UCL sprain in his left elbow in August while he was in the midst of rehabbing neck and back injuries. He was batting .215 with seven HR, 26 RBI and a .666 OPS in the majors this year.

Jose Berrios (12-9, 3.48) takes the mound for Toronto. Berrios struck out 10 batters while allowing three runs over six innings in last Friday’s loss to the Twins. The right-hander was touched up for three runs in the third inning, but he was otherwise dominant against his former team. Berrios racked up double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time this season and induced 17 swings-and-misses while notching his sixth straight quality start.

Berrios won his lone start this year against the Yankees, allowing two runs over 6.2 innings on Sept. 9 in the Bronx.