The second game of a three-game series between the Toronto Blue Jays (45-55) and the Tampa Bay Rays (51-50) gets underway at the Rogers Centre at 7.07 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The Blue Jays won game one and are looking to make it two from two in the series, while the Rays will be aiming to hit back immediately.
Before we come onto what went down yesterday between the two teams, the Rays will start as the favourite as they are -114 on the moneyline at sportsbooks at present. The Blue Jays are -104 on the moneyline. This indicates that a close contest is expected in game two. The Rays will start with Zach Eflin (5-7), and the Blue Jays will begin with Yariel Rodriguez (1-3).
In yesterday’s clash between the Blue Jays and the Rays, it was the Blue Jays who came out on top, winning the game 4-2. Tyler Alexander bagged the win for the Rays (3.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 4 K), and Brandon Lowe led matters offensively, going one for four with a home run and two RBI. The loss was taken by Jose Berrios (4.2 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 5 K) for the Blue Jays.
Betting Insights
- The Blue Jays have been seen as the underdogs forty-three times so far this season, and they’ve won thirteen of those games in total.
- When they’ve been -104 or worse on the moneyline, the Blue Jays have won twelve from thirty-six contests.
- There’s a 51% chance that the Blue Jays will make it two wins from two in the series, according to the moneyline.
- They’ve been favourites fifty-two times this season, and of those fifty-two games, the Rays have won 51.9%, which is a total of twenty-seven.
- When the moneyline has had the Rays priced at -116 as a minimum, they’ve managed to win twenty-three from forty-one or 56.1%.
- According to the moneyline, the Rays have a 53.7% chance of winning against the Blue Jays.
The Prediction
The first game, and the three-game series in general, were predicted to be tight and difficult to call. In game one of three, we saw the Blue Jays triumph by a scoreline of 4-2, but there’s a lot of data and stats out there, including what the moneyline is implying, that the Rays will bounce back on Wednesday evening.
And we can certainly see why that conclusion has been arrived at, especially as some win probabilities go as far as suggesting that the likelihood of a Rays win is 53%, and for the Blue Jays, it’s just 47%. However, the scales are more balanced in our eyes.
We are actually going to tip a second Blue Jays win, and for them to make it two from two in the three-game series. They won 4-2 last night and we’re going to put forward a 4-3 victory for tonight, with under 8.5 runs alongside the scoreline.
