Drew Hutchison (5-1, 5.75 ERA) and Jon Niese (3-6, 4.24 ERA) are on the hill in the first of a two-game series between the Toronto Blue Jays (34-32) and the New York Mets (36-30) at the Rogers Centre. Action begins at 7:07 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jun. 17 and can be seen on SNY and RSN.
Hutchison pitched 2.1 innings in his most recent start, surrendering eight runs, striking out three and walking three in a 13-10 defeat to the Red Sox. Chris Colabello (.342, 24 Rs, 4 HRs, 22 RBIs, 2 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday. Against the Blue Jays, Niese is 0-1 with a 24.00 ERA, 3.33 WHIP, and six strikeouts. Lucas Duda (.280, 36 Rs, 9 HRs, 29 RBIs) went 1 for 4 yesterday.
Toronto is a -154 favorite against New York and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at nine runs. The Blue Jays have recorded an overall money line of +128 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 20-12. Toronto is unbeaten as the favorite and has a 9-1 SU record in its last ten outings. The Blue Jays have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 7.6 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 5.5 runs per game. The Blue Jays have no trouble scoring as they lead the AL in home offense with 5.7 runs per home game. The Blue Jays are one of the best in the MLB in terms of home runs with 81. Toronto’s pitchers put it all together when National League teams are on the field. Its average runs allowed per game drops to 3.5 against NL teams, compared to its 4.5 season average.
Over in the other dugout, in contrast to an encouraging overall money line (+325), New York has an unimpressive 6-21 record when playing as the underdog. They have been on a bit of a dry streak over their last 10 games. They managed a 0-2 record when playing as the underdog. The Mets allow 3.9 runs per game, but does better whenever an AL opponent is on the schedule. They bring that runs allowed average down to 3.3 against teams from the AL. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Mets are one of the best in the league with a WHIP of 1.19 for the season.
The Mets have the edge in the season series, 2-0. The Blue Jays have a great 7-2 record at home (10-4 overall) against left-handed starting pitchers, which is what they’ll be facing when Niese takes the mound. Hutchison (RHP) will be on the hill against the Mets, who have a 29-24 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – TOR, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Toronto is 19-12, while New York is 16-12.
The Blue Jays are coming into this game after allowing zero walks during their last outing. The Mets have a 2-3 record when opponents give up that many walks.
It looks like the Mets have a slight leg up on the Blue Jays, as the Mets have won their last three games while the Blue Jays have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Blue Jays are 30-5. The Mets have a 23-3 record when outhitting opponents.
Toronto ranks at the top of the league when it comes to runs with 361 this season. New York ranks near the bottom at 22nd with 254.
Ranking 19th, New York is in the bottom half of the league in walks, notching 178 this season. Toronto ranks in the top five at fifth with 211.
The Blue Jays are 30-16 when they hit at least one home run. The Mets perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 23-10 record.
