It is an AL East battle to start the weekend as the Tampa Bay Rays face the Toronto Blue Jays. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Rays-Blue Jays prediction and pick.

The Rays will be in the middle of the pack of the AL East heading into this series. They will be finishing a four-game set with the Red Sox before traveling to Toronto. Going into the final game, the Rays are 22-22, a half-game behind the Red Sox, after taking two of the first three. The Blue Jays will come into the game last in the division. They just finished two games in Baltimore, splitting the two games with a postponed game in between.

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Rays-Blue Jays Odds

Tampa Bay Rays: +1.5 (-152)

Moneyline: +150

Toronto Blue Jays: -1.5 (+126)

Moneyline: -178

Over: 8.5 (-105)

Under: 8.5 (-115)

How to Watch Rays vs. Blue Jays

Time:  7:07 PM ET/ 4:07 PM PT

TV: Apple TV +

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Rays Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Rays are 18th in the majors in runs per game while sitting 13th in batting average, 12th in on-base percentage, and 20th in slugging. The offensive attack has been led by Isaac Paredes. He is hitting .302 on the year with a .384 on-base percentage. He has six doubles and eight home runs this year, leading to 23 RBIs. Further, he has scored 18 times in the year. Meanwhile, Yandy Diaz is also driving in runs. He is hitting .253 with a .314 on-base percentage. He has nine doubles and three home runs, leading to 21 RBIs. Diaz has scored 20 times as well.

Randy Arozarena has struggled some at the plate this year but still has some solid production. Arozarena is hitting just .156 on the year with a .254 on-base percentage. He has four doubles and eight home runs, leading to 18 RBIs. He has scored 20 times this year and also stolen seven bases. Stealing bases is something Jose Caballero does well. He is hitting .252 on the year with a .306 on-base percentage. Caballero has stolen 17 bases this year while scoring 20 times. He also has two home runs and 13 RBIs this year.

Rays pitching is 22nd in team ERA while sitting 14th in wHIP and 20th in opponent batting average. The Rays have not named a starting pitcher yet for this game. Tyler Alexander made the start in this spot in the order last time. He is 1-2 with a 5.45 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP on the year.

Why The Blue Jays Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Blue Jays are 29th in the majors in runs scored. They are 21st in batting average, 15th in on-base percentage, and 24th in slugging. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tied for the team lead in RBIs this year. He is hitting .275 on the year with a .373 on-base percentage. He has six doubles and four home runs. That has led to 19 RBIs. Further, he has scored 17 times this year. Daulton Varsho has also been driving in runs this year. He is not hitting great, hitting just .208 on the year, but he has a .304 on-base percentage. Varsho has eight doubles and seven home runs. leading to 19 RBIs. Further, he has stolen four bases and scored 22 times.

Hitting fairly well this year is Justin Turner. He is hitting .246 but is getting on base at a .317 rate. He has eight doubles and four home runs, leading to his 16 RBIs and 17 runs scored on the year. Meanwhile, Davis Schneider is playing well. He is hitting .258 on the year with four home runs and 15 RBIs while scoring 16 times.

The Blue Jays are 25th in team ERA, 24th in WHIP, and 26th in opponent batting average.  It will be Chris Bassitt on the mound for the Blue Jays in this one. He is 3-5 with a 5.06 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. He won his last start after giving up just two runs in 6.1 innings of work. His first start of the year was against the Rays. In that game, Bassitt went five innings, giving up five runs with four earned. He took the loss in that game.

Final Rays-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick

Two things are working against the Blue Jays in this one. First, Christ Bassitt has struggled heavily against the Rays. Second, the Blue Jays offense has not been good this year. They have struggled consistently to score runs and the power is just not there this year. The Rays have that power and will score enough to pull away in this one.

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Final Rays-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick: Rays ML  (+150)