All eyes will be on the Kansas City Royals when they trot out their new ace Johnny Cueto to make his team debut in a showdown with Toronto. The Blue Jays counter with their own recent acquisition in five-time All-Star Troy Tulowitzki as the major’s highest scoring team hosts the AL’s best in the second of a four-game set.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Sometimes it’s just not your night, and Wednesday was definitely not Kansas City’s night. The Royals were drubbed 12-1 at Cleveland, proving that even the best can have an off-night every now and then. There haven’t been many for the Royals, however, who saw their four-game win streak snapped. KC is still the best team in the AL at 61-39 entering the series and is a boon to bettors up 21.21 units on the moneyline. Toronto is the highest scoring team in baseball averaging 5.27 runs per game and that number went up after the Jays acquired Troy Tulowitzki. Toronto beat Philadelphia 8-2 in Tulo’s debut, cashing the over for the fourth time in five games, and improved to 29-20 at Rogers Centre, up 1.79 units.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Johnny Cueto (7-6, 2.62 ERA) makes his Royals debut after being acquired in a trade last Sunday. The righty had a tremendous final outing for the Reds on Saturday, tossing eight shutout innings at Coors Field, and should provide a massive boost to the Royals’ rotation down the stretch and into the postseason.
Cueto has made two career starts against the Blue Jays and is 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA. In his lone start at Rogers Centre, he gave up five runs in six innings but got the win.
Drew Hutchison (9-2, 5.42 ERA) had his last outing delayed by three days because of the flu and he allowed six runs over four innings Saturday in a no-decision at Seattle. He made 84 pitches and gave up seven hits while likely dealing with some level of fatigue. Hutchison has been much better at home this year with a 2.21 ERA compared with 9.00 ERA in 11 road outings.
Hutchison will make his first start against the Royals this season and third career after going 1-1 with a 6.57 ERA in his two previous outings.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“I was nervous going into the game, no doubt about it. It was the first time I’ve worn a different uniform. Kept looking down and seeing blue, it’s a little different for me. But by the time I got out there on the field, I felt myself and I was excited to go.” – Toronto’s Troy Tulowitzki after his team debut.
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
While moving on after being traded sometimes takes time, Troy Tulowitzki fit right in during his first game with the Blue Jays. Acquired from the Rockies Monday night, Tulo admitted he was “blindsided” by the trade that sent him north of the border. The shock didn’t seem to last long. After striking out in his first at-bat, Tulowitzki hit a two-run homer to snap on 0 for 21 slump. He added two doubles and finished with three runs and three RBIs as Toronto rolled to an 8-2 victory. Tulo hadn’t played at Rogers Centre since 2007, but all five of his hits there have gone for extra bases – three were home runs. Tulowitzki batted leadoff for the first time in his career, going 3 for 5 and he extended Toronto’s streak of games with a home run to a season-high 11.
PROP TALK
It’s hard not to compare each team’s new pieces and there is a history between Johnny Cueto and Troy Tulowitzki with both coming over from the National League. Tulo has three hits, the most of any Toronto player, in 13 lifetime at-bats against the Royals’ new ace and is one of two current Blue Jays to hit a home run off him. Of course there isn’t a large sample size and most at-bats, like Tulo’s, came as a member of another team. Toronto’s offense hasn’t been silenced often this season. Then again they haven’t faced Cueto either.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
With such dramatic splits it’s tough to figure out what the Blue Jays have in Drew Hutchison. If he pitched all his games in Rogers Centre, where he’s 7-1 with a 2.21 ERA in nine starts, he’d be a Cy Young contender. Get him south of the border and he’s riding a bus in Double-A ball. But this game is about the Royals’ prized acquisition Johnny Cueto, who makes his first start for the team. Cueto had superb numbers for a poor Reds team, sporting a 2.62 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and .196 opponent’s batting average and only had a 7-6 record to show for it. Imagine what he’d be like on a good team.
Kansas City 5, Toronto 3
The MLB lines for this contest will first be released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The ballgame pitting the Kansas City Royals versus the Toronto Blue Jays will commence Friday, July 31, 2015, at 7:07 p.m. ET at Rogers Centre. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
