Athletics vs. Blue Jays Pick
Can the Oakland Athletics avoid a third straight loss to the Toronto Blue Jays when the two meet up again tonight at 7:07PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Blue Jays are favored at home, as they are getting odds of -165 to win, while the Athletics are listed with a money line of +145 to prevail. The over/under total for the game has been set at 9.5 runs.
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The pitching matchup tonight features Paul Blackburn (1-1, 2.88 ERA) on the mound for Oakland to face Marco Estrada (4-7, 5.52) of the Blue Jays. Blackburn has made four starts this season, allowing eight earned runs over 25 innings of work. He has nine strikeouts, seven walks and a 1.16 WHIP. Estrada has been struggling, allowing at least four earned runs in seven of his last nine starts. On the year, he has 118 strikeouts with 46 walks and a 1.49 WHIP.
These two opened their series on Monday with Toronto picking up a 4-2 win. The Jays followed that up on Tuesday with a 4-1 win at home. Toronto is now 46-54 overall and 24-24 at home. Oakland is 44-56 overall and 16-33 on the road.
Tuesday’s game saw Toronto post four runs on Sonny Gray in the second inning, though none were earned. Still, it was enough to carry the Jays to the win and hand Gray his fifth loss of the season. Cesar Valdez allowed one earned run over six innings to get his first win of the season. Ryan Goins drove in a pair of runs to lead Toronto while Troy Tulowitzki had two hits and a RBI. Khris Davis had two hits for Oakland and drove in the team’s lone run.
Bet on Athletics vs. Blue Jays
The pitching matchup favored Oakland on Tuesday but it still led to a loss. The pitching matchup favors Oakland again tonight, but it’s hard to trust them in this series. Their hitting hasn’t been there despite good pitching. Estrada has been consistent about allowing runs, so I expect that to continue. Blackburn has looked sharp in his starts this year and I feel good that he can lead Oakland out of this funk.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: OAKLAND ATHLETICS +145