Red Sox vs. Blue Jays Thursday Pick
The Boston Red Sox have put on a hitting clinic the last two nights in Toronto with victories over the Blue Jays. Will it be more of the same on Thursday night when these AL East teams meet again at 7:07 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot & Odds
913 Boston Red Sox (-167) at 914 Toronto Blue Jays (+145); 9.5 runs
Thursday, August 9, 2018
7:07 p.m. ET, Rogers Centre
TV: BOS (NESN); TOR (SNET)
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Public Betting Trends
Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Red Sox as a -167 favorite. As of this writing, 76% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Red Sox to beat the Blue Jays 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.
Red Sox Porcello dominates Yankees with 86-pitch complete game
Rick Porcello allowed one run in a complete-game one-hitter as part of a 4-1 win over the Yankees on Friday. Brilliant and efficient. Porcello needed just 86 pitches to get it done, 68 of them for strikes. That’s the fewest pitches needed in a nine-inning complete game since Corey Kluber threw one on 85 pitches during the 2014 season. Porcello threw first-pitch strikes to 23 out of the 28 batters he faced while striking out nine and walking none. He also hit Brett Gardner to begin the game, though he was quickly erased on a double play grounder. The only run scored on a solo homer from Miguel Andujar in the third inning. He retired the final 21 batters he faced. Porcello has now won three straight starts to improve to 14-4 on the year to go along with a 3.84 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. The Red Sox now lead the Yankees by 7 1/2 games in the AL East.
Blue Jays’ Borucki goes eight innings in defeating Mariners
Ryan Borucki allowed just an unearned run over eight innings in beating the Mariners for his first major league victory Friday. Borucki pitched well in five of his previous six starts, too, but he never eked out a win in any of those. He made quick work of the Mariners despite striking out just two in eight innings. His stuff is fine, but given that he’s not generating an abundance of swings and misses or groundballs (at least prior to tonight), he doesn’t figure to keep up his current pace. He’s still at least a streaming option against weaker offenses, though.
MLB Betting Trends
Boston
The Red Sox are 7-1 in Porcello’s last eight starts and are a perfect 4-0 in his last four road outings.
Toronto
The Blue Jays have lost five straight at home and 11 of 14 on Thursday.
Prediction:
The over is 4-1 in Porcello’s last five starts versus the Blue Jays and has cashed in seven of the last nine meetings overall between these two teams. The over is also 13-3 in the Blue Jays’ last 16 games overall, is 5-1 in their lat six home games and is 4-1 in their last five divisional games. Finally, the over is 6-2 in Porcello’s last eight road starts and is 11-4-1 in his last 16 starts overall.
The Pick: Red Sox/Blue Jays over 9.5