A’s vs. Blue Jays Thursday Prediction
A pair of American League teams that have struggled over their last 10 games will open a new series in Toronto on Thursday night. What is the best play tonight when the Blue Jays host the Oakland A’s?
Game Snapshot & Odds
961 Oakland A’s (+105) at 962 Toronto Blue Jays (-115); 9.5 runs
Thursday, May 17, 2018
7:07 p.m. ET, Rogers Centre
TV: TOR (SNET)
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Public Betting Trends
Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Blue Jays as a -115 favorite. As of this writing, 63% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Blue Jays to beat the A’s on the moneyline. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our MLB Public Betting Page for updated figures on this game.
A’s Triggs can’t get through five innings in last start
Andrew Triggs couldn’t make it through the fifth inning in a no-decision against the Yankees on Saturday, allowing six runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked four on the afternoon.
Triggs pitched into the fifth inning with a 6-2 advantage, but couldn’t get the requisite three outs to put him in line for a victory. All of the damage against him came via the long ball, with Gary Sanchez and Aaron Hicks belting solo homers in the second and Aaron Judge crushing a two-run blast in the fifth. He’ll try to improve upon his 5.31 ERA and 1.33 WHIP when he takes on the Blue Jays in Toronto on Thursday.
Blue Jays’ Sanchez pitches five innings in no-decision
Aaron Sanchez yielded three runs (two earned) over five innings and took a no-decision Friday against the Red Sox. Sanchez didn’t make it out of the fourth inning in his last start, so he at least worked a bit deeper this time and kept the Blue Jays in the ballgame.
He surrendered five hits (including a solo homer to Xander Bogaerts) and three walks against four strikeouts. Sanchez’s control was an issue during his injury-plagued season last year and he has 25 walks in 46 1/3 innings so far this year. He’s never posted big strikeout numbers.
MLB Betting Trends
Oakland
The A’s have struggled in this series in recent meetings. They’re 0-5 in their last five games versus the Blue Jays overall and are just 3-13 in their last 16 games in Toronto.
Toronto
The under is 3-1-1 in the last five meetings between these two teams in Toronto.
Prediction:
These two pitchers do a great job of generating ground balls so this is a small risk but I do like the unders. Neither pitcher has great strikeout rates and both have a tendency to hand out free passes (Sanchez more so than Triggs). Given the ball park and the fact that Triggs owns a 4.66 ERA and Sanchez’s is 4.15, these offenses should generate enough runs to push the score over the total.
The Pick: A’s/Blue Jays over 9.5