The Boston Red Sox will be squaring off against their divisional rival Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. New England Sports Network is in line to televise the action and the first pitch will be at 7:07 p.m. ET.
Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays Odds
Boston (-130) is the favorite over Toronto (+120) and Vegas has set the Over/Under for this night game at 8.5 runs. The odds for wagering on the game’s total stand at -130 for the over and +110 for the under. Bettors can also wager on the game’s runline with the odds standing at +115 for the Red Sox -1.5 runs and -135 for the Blue Jays +1.5.
The Red Sox are 17-5 SU and are 12-9 against the spread (ATS). They’ve gained 12.1 units for gamblers taking the moneyline in this young season and 3.8 units ATS. Boston’s covered the spread five times in its last seven games and the over has hit in four of those seven. The Blue Jays, on the other hand, are 14-8 SU and 12-9 ATS. The team’s gained 4.8 units for moneyline bettors and 3.3 units ATS. Toronto has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the over has cashed in four of those seven.
Blue Jays games have an over/under record of 9-10-2 thus far in 2018. Boston has an over/under record of 12-8-1.
The left-handed Eduardo Rodriguez will get the nod for the visiting Red Sox. Rodriguez is 2-0 with a 3.45 ERA and 20 strikeouts. He has yet to face Toronto this year, but he did make two starts against the team in 2017, putting together a 0-0 record with a 3.65 ERA and 18 strikeouts.
The Blue Jays are turning to righty Aaron Sanchez (1-2, 3.86 ERA), who’s got 15 strikeouts and 13 walks to his name as well as a WHIP of 1.44. Sanchez only made one start against the Red Sox in 2017 (0-1, 6.75 ERA and two strikeouts across four innings).
Toronto’s pitchers have yielded 4.1 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. Its starters have a 5.01 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a solid ERA of just 2.28, a WHIP of 1.24 and a K/9 of 9.0. In 12 divisional games, Blue Jays starters have an ERA of 4.96 and the bullpen’s ERA is 2.00.
Toronto’s hitters are putting up 5.5 runs per outing, including 3.7 per game against divisional foes and 3.4 per game over their last five. The team has hit .170/.275/.273 over its last five matchups and is 2-3 SU during that span.
The Blue Jays’ hitters have been led by left fielder Curtis Granderson and third baseman Yangervis Solarte. Granderson is slashing .321/.424/.571 with three home runs, 12 RBIs and 11 runs scored, while Solarte’s line is .236/.356/.486 with five homers, 10 RBIs and 13 runs.
Granderson didn’t do as well hitting against left-handed pitching at home in 2017, slashing .149/.212/.234 across 52 such plate appearances (compared to his total season line of .212/.323/.450).
In the visiting dugout, Boston’s pitching staff allowed 2.9 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 2.51 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 9.91 K/9. The bullpen has logged an ERA of 3.27, along with a WHIP of 1.08 and a K-per-9 of 9.47.
Red Sox hitters have slashed .275/.344/.457 on their way to 5.8 runs scored per game in 2018, including 5.8 runs per game against divisional foes and 3.8 per game over the team’s last five contests (2-3 SU).
Boston’s offense has been powered by right fielder Mookie Betts and first baseman Hanley Ramirez. Betts is hitting .347/.444/.693 with six home runs, 14 RBIs and 23 runs scored, while Ramirez is slashing .333/.386/.507 with three homers, 16 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
The Red Sox have gained 11.6 units and are 11-7 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has hit in 11 of those games, compared to six that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Blue Jays have netted 1.6 units and are 5-3 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in four of those games, as opposed to three that’ve cashed the under.
Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays Free Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Red Sox, ATS Winner – Red Sox, O/U – OVER
Notes
Betting Trends
Toronto has posted 21.7 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 contests and 14.6 over its last five.
The Red Sox have hit 16 home runs in their last 10 games. The Blue Jays have hit 11 over their last 10.
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