A’s vs. Blue Jays Friday Prediction
The Oakland A’s slugged their way to a victory on Thursday night in Toronto. Will it be more of the same when the A’s visit the Blue Jays again on Friday night? What can bettors expect?
Game Snapshot & Odds
915 Oakland A’s (+108) at 916 Toronto Blue Jays (-118); 10 runs
Friday, May 18, 2018
7:07 p.m. ET, Rogers Centre
TV: OAK (CSCA); TOR (SNET)
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Public Betting Trends
Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Blue Jays as a -118 favorite. As of this writing, 66% 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 Anderson allows four runs in five innings in latest loss
Brett Anderson allowed four runs in five innings in a loss to the Yankees on Sunday. Anderson gave up eight hits, and he walked two and struck out four. It’s certainly an improvement over his start on Monday, but considering he gave up nine runs in three innings, that’s not saying much. In his three starts with the A’s, Anderson now owns an ERA of 8.16, and he’s given up a whopping 23 hits in just over 14 innings. He’ll get another start on Friday against the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays’ Estrada allows four runs in six innings vs. Red Sox
Marco Estrada gave up four runs in six innings and was charged with a loss to the Red Sox on Saturday. Most of the damage came in the third inning when he surrendered a ground-rule double to Andrew Benintendi that plated Mookie Betts, and followed that by serving up a two-run dinger to Hanley Ramirez. Estrada gave up seven total hits and one walk while fanning five in the loss. He falls to 2-3 with a 5.32 ERA after eight starts. He’s surrendered 10 home runs already this year, only Josh Tomlin and Homer Bailey have allowed more.
MLB Betting Trends
Oakland
Despite winning on Thursday night, the A’s are just 1-5 in their last six games versus the Blue Jays and have dropped 12 of their last 14 meetings with the Jays at Rogers Centre.
Toronto
The Blue Jays are now just 1-4 in their last five games overall and have dropped five of their last seven games versus opponents from the American League West.
Prediction:
We should have another high-scoring game on our hands with these two pitchers taking the mound for their respective teams. Let’s start off with Anderson. The A’s starter owns a 6.72 ERA and while his 4.87 SIERA suggests that ERA number should come down over time, it’s still ugly for Anderson. He’s not generating many strikeouts at 14.4% and is a pitcher that relies on groundballs (50.6%). While that’s great and all, he’s still being hit hard (35.8%) and this Toronto offense can do a lot of damage, especially at home.
On the other side is Estrada, who owns a 5.05 ERA and a 4.76 SIERA. He’s done a much better job than Anderson at limiting hard contact (28.5%) but the A’s are an extreme flyball team and Estrada has not kept the ball on the ground this year (29.1%). Thus, even if Estrada wiggles out of trouble from time to time tonight, I still envision Oakland taking him deep at least once. This total is high but I still see the two teams eclipsing the number.
The Pick: A’s/Blue Jays over 10