The Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays will open a three-game set on Tuesday night. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Red Sox-Blue Jays prediction and pick.
The top two teams in the American League East will square off in an exciting series that should be full of offense. Boston has scored the most runs in baseball and Toronto is coming off of a 10-run performance against the Phillies on Sunday. Although this series is taking place in May, it will certainly play a factor in the AL East standings come September.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Red Sox-Blue Jays odds.
MLB Odds: Red Sox-Blue Jays Odds
Boston Red Sox +1.5 (-160)
Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (+140)
Over 9 Runs (-110)
Under 9 Runs (-110)
Why The Red Sox Could Cover The Spread
The Boston Red Sox lineup has been the absolute best in baseball thus far. Boston is hitting .264 as a club, which is good for second in the majors. The Red Sox also have the best slugging percentage at .446 and the sixth-best on-base percentage at .326. The Red Sox have plated 217 runs to date in what has been an incredible start to the year. Boston is led by a plethora of power bats. Rafael Devers leads the way with 11 home runs and 34 RBI. JD Martinez and Xander Bogaerts are right behind Devers and the trio has produced the best offensive output in baseball.
Boston left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will get the nod for his club in the opener. Rodriguez is 5-1 with a 4.15 ERA and 42 strikeouts coming into this start. The southpaw defeated the Blue Jays on April 20th in an impressive six-inning performance. He gave up two runs on three hits in the recent win against the division rivals. The staff has been fairly solid as a whole with a team-ERA of 3.82, which is the 12th best in the majors.
Why The Blue Jays Could Cover The Spread
The Toronto Blue Jays are not far behind the Boston Red Sox in terms of offensive output. They are currently hitting .246 as a club, which is good for eighth in baseball. The Jays currently possess the sixth-best slugging percentage at .416 as well. Toronto's early offensive success has to be credited mostly to the dominance of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the plate this season. Guerrero Jr. is leading the way with a .319 batting average and 11 long balls. Guerrero and Randal Grichuk are tied at the top with 30 RBI each.
Toronto will have their ace on the bump as left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu gets set to open the series. The Blue Jays southpaw is 3-2 with a 2.95 ERA and 38 strikeouts on the young season. Ryu seems to be picking up right where he left off in his career year last season. He faced the Red Sox back on April 20th and earned the loss in an underwhelming five-inning effort. The Blue Jays ace will look to have a solid bounce-back performance against their division rivals at home.
Final Red Sox-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick
Determining the winner of this series opener will be tough as these teams match up fairly well against each other. Win or lose, I predict that Boston will stick around with the Jays throughout. Eduardo Rodriguez had a great start in his last outing against Toronto and the Sox got to Ryu in that same game. I expect Ryu to be better than he was on April 20th, but I still see the best offense in baseball putting up some runs. Boston has been phenomenal coming off of an off-day and will be motivated to gain some ground on the second-place team in the division.
FINAL PICK: Boston Red Sox +1.5 (-160)
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