In the second of a four-game series between the Cleveland Indians (7-14) and the Toronto Blue Jays (7-14) at Progressive Field, Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 4.60 ERA) and Mark Buehrle (3-1, 4.94 ERA) get the start. The Blue Jays won the last game 5-1 and Toronto leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 7:10 p.m. ET on Friday, May. 1 and will air on RSN and STO.
In his most recent outing, Carrasco pitched 4.1 innings, giving up five runs, striking out five and walking two in an 8-6 loss to the Tigers. Brandon Moss (.238, 10 Rs, 4 HRs, 14 RBIs) played well again yesterday, going 2 for 4. In his pitching opportunities against the Indians, Buehrle is 16-17 with a 4.75 ERA. He gets a struggling Cleveland offense that’s batting just .238.
Cleveland is a -119 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Indians have a losing record of 4-8 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of -843. An area where the Indians are particularly strong is striking batters out, where they average an AL-best 9.9 K’s per game.
On the other side, the Blue Jays have a record of 5-7 when they are the underdog and are -376 overall with the money line. They have played poorly as the underdog as of late. They managed a 2-5 record when playing as the underdog and an SU record of 4-6. The Blue Jays rank second in the AL in scoring, averaging 5.3 runs per game. Toronto is one of the top hitting teams in the league with 74 extra base hits.
The only other game between the two teams went Toronto’s way. The Indians will take on a left-hander (Buehrle) in this game. They have struggled against left-handed starting pitchers this season, going 1-7. Taking the hill against the Blue Jays will be the right-hander Carrasco. They sport an 8-11 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – TOR, O/U – Over
Notes
When the Blue Jays play into extra innings, they have a 1-0 record. The Indians are 0-1 when their games exceed nine innings.
The Blue Jays are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Indians have a 3-3 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Indians are 5-2. The Blue Jays have a 9-1 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking first in runs, Toronto has earned 122 this season. Cleveland ranks 23rd with 79 runs.
Ranking 16th, Cleveland is in the bottom half of the league in walks, notching 66 this season. Toronto ranks in the top 10 at sixth with 77.
When the Indians hit at least one home run, they are 6-6. When the Blue Jays hit at least one homer, they have a 9-4 record.
