The Toronto Blue Jays will continue their postseason push on Monday when they face off against the Tampa Bay Rays. With just two weeks of regular-season baseball left, Toronto remains in the middle of a heated AL East race with an 83-65 overall record. The Jays won the last meeting 6-3 against the Rays. Toronto will embark on a seven-game road series before returning home for their final two season series. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Blue Jays-Rays prediction & pick.
Here’s how the bookmakers have set the odds:
MLB Odds: Blue Jays-Rays Odds
Toronto Blue Jays: -129
Tampa Bay Rays: +119
Over: 7.5 (-125)
Under: 7.5 (+105)
*Watch MLB Games Live with fuboTV(click for a free trial)
Why the Blue Jays Could Win
Over their last ten games, the Toronto Blue Jays are 7-3 with a .301 batting average while outscoring opponents by 32 runs. They are coming off a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins, where Toronto won their final two games at home. Before this series, the Rays visited Toronto and dropped two games against the Blue Jays. Robbie Ray pitched a phenomenal game in his last outing, holding the Rays to one run on six hits in seven innings while striking out 13 batters. Ray picked up his 12th win of the season and will look to repeat his performance tonight when he takes the mound.
This season, Robbie Ray has posted the lowest ERA of his career. He has struck out 11.83 batters per nine innings of work and walked a career-low 2.23 batters per nine this season.
The Blue Jays left-hander has taken the hill versus the Rays five times this season, posting a 2-1 record with a 1.85 ERA. Currently, the Rays hitters are batting a slim .170 average in 159 plate appearances off of Ray heading into Monday’s game. Toronto is 4-0 in their last four Monday games and 9-1 in their previous ten games on the road.
Why the Rays Could Win
Tampa Bay is coming off a four-game homestand versus the Detroit Tigers in which both teams split the series. The Rays hold a 92-58 record and are currently in first place in the AL East. They will counter the Blue Jays with Shane Baz in his Major League debut.
The Rays offense is one of the best, averaging 5.31 runs per game which is the 2nd highest in the MLB. Joey Wendle leads the club in batting average (.271) as Brandon Lowe leads with 34 home runs, and Austin Meadows has a total of 100 RBIs. Further, Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena are two other critical pieces to the offense totaling 110+ hits and 65 RBIs on the season. The Rays are 10-3 in their last 13 in game one of a series and 41-15 in their last 56 games versus the AL East.
Final Blue Jays-Rays Prediction & Pick
In his last start, Robbie Ray had a spectacular performance against the Tampa Bay Rays and has double-digit strikeouts in five of his previous six outings. This series should be high-scoring as both teams have high-octane offenses. With that being said, the Rays are only 1-4 in their last five games versus a left-handed starter. Tampa struggled to score runs against Detroit and may not produce as many runs against a much better team in Toronto. Take the Jays in game one on the road.
Final Blue Jays-Rays Prediction & Pick: Toronto Blue Jays ML
Follow Us
Subscribe