We're back with another betting prediction and pick for Friday's MLB slate of action as we head to the American League for a showdown between struggling teams this season. The Oakland Athletics will visit the Toronto Blue Jays for the beginning of a three-game series. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with an Athletics-Blue Jays prediction and pick.
Athletics-Blue Jays Projected Starters
Mitch Spence (RHP) vs. Jose Berrios (RHP)
Mitch Spence (7-7) with a 4.40 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 84 K, 100.1 IP
Last Start: 8/3 vs. LAD (L) – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 K
2024 Road Splits: (3-3) with a 5.22 ERA, .243 OBA, 32 K, 39.2 IP
Jose Berrios (9-9) with a 4.11 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 103 K, 135.2 IP
Last Start: 8/3 @ NYY (L) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 K
2024 Home Splits: (7-2) with a 2.99 ERA, .217 OBA, 49 K, 69.1 IP
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Athletics-Blue Jays Odds
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-166)
Moneyline: +124
Toronto Blue Jays: -1.5 (+138)
Moneyline: -146
Over: 8.5 (-122)
Under: 8.5 (+100)
How to Watch Athletics vs. Blue Jays
Time: 7:07 p.m. ET/ 4:07 p.m. PT
TV: NBC Sports California, Toronto SportsNet, MLB.TV
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Athletics Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Oakland Athletics are currently last in the AL West and they sit 12 games back of the leading Houston Astros. It's been yet another disappointing season for the A's as the organization continues to make drastic changes for its future. They've split their last 10 games at 5-5 and much of their season has been losing their series 1-2 and continuing to take steps backwards. Still, it's an improvement from their record last year and they'll hope to continue finding bright spots throughout this season. They recently took down the White Sox in their three-game series and could have another few wins in them here.
Mitch Spence is heading to the mound for his 15th start of the season. He's been used equally as a relief pitcher and he's been able to be much better in relief than he has when making starts. He's also done a good job at limiting home runs hit off of him, so he could have some success against a Blue Jays lineup that's been struggling as of late. He's only given up five combined runs over his last three starts, so expect Spence to continue building his confidence during this outing.
Why The Blue Jays Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Toronto Blue Jays are currently last in the AL East and sit 15.5 games back of the leading Baltimore Orioles. They've gone 4-6 over their last 10 games and will have played seven of their last 10 against the Orioles when they finish their current series. Managing to pick up only two wins against them during that stretch, the Blue Jays haven't been doing much to shorten this gap between them and the divisional leaders. They'd like to capitalize on the talent they have in Valdimir Guerrero Jr., but it's been tough to see them have this kind of season after their success a year ago.
The Blue Jays will send Jose Berrios to the mound for his 24th start of the season. He's been Toronto's best home pitcher by far with a 7-2 record and sub-3 ERA. He also has 49 strikeouts while only allowing seven home runs in his home ballpark, so he's undoubtedly the best option they have when opening a series. Look for Berrios to continue his dominance over left-handed batters and watch as he tries to be aggressive in forcing batters into a hole early.
Final Athletics-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick
Both of these teams are hoping to turn the chapter on this season and finish with a respectable record. While the Athletics have taken a step in the right direction, they're still far from becoming relevant again and they're in-line for some big offseason changes. The Blue Jays have also had an extremely disappointing season by their standards and with Vladimir Guerrero's future with the club clouded by uncertainty, it'll be interesting to see how the Blue Jays recover moving forward.
We don't have to look much further into this game than the pitching matchup, to which we have to give the clear edge to Toronto. Jose Berrios has been a massive bright spot in their season and he's been extremely dominant at home. With the Athletics' lineup currently struggling to produce hits, look for Berrios to be dominant early as he turns in significant scoreless innings.
For our final prediction, we're going to roll with the Toronto Blue Jays to cover the runline here. They're 2-1 against Oakland this season and notched both wins by at least two runs.
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Final Athletics-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick: Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (+138)
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