The crushing offense displayed by the Blue Jays last year has yet to arrive in 2016. It may be difficult for Toronto to break out of their slump against the Dodgers’ Kenta Maeda, who has dazzled in his first five starts in the majors.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
Taking to the road might do the Dodgers some good because they certainly played like they didn’t want to be in L.A. during their recent homestand. The Dodgers completed a seven-game home stay Sunday and needed a win in that final contest just to salvage a victory. They beat San Diego 1-0 behind Clayton Kershaw’s gem, snapping a six-game slide that included four losses to Miami and two to the Padres.
The Dodgers will also enjoy two off days this week, including one ahead of their series north of the border. They better enjoy it because they have just one scheduled over the next five weeks. The down time also allowed manager Dave Roberts to juggle his rotation, giving Kenta Maeda two extra days of rest so he can start the series opener on Friday against the right-handed heavy lineup of the Blue Jays.
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Kenta Maeda (3-1, 1.41 ERA) had his start delayed to Friday so he, instead of lefty Alex Wood, could face the Blue Jays and their right-handed sluggers. Maeda came down to earth a bit in his last outing, suffering his first MLB loss after allowing four runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings against the Marlins. He had allowed just one run through the first six frames before running out of gas in the seventh.
It was a minor bump in an otherwise excellent start to the campaign for the Japanese rookie, who carries a 1.41 ERA and 0.94 WHIP into Friday’s start.
Jays’ righty Marcus Stroman (4-0, 3.77 ERA) will face the Dodgers for the first time in his career. He’s coming off his best outing of the young season where he recorded a career-best nine strikeouts against the Rays. Stroman allowed just three hits, including a solo homer by Evan Longoria, and walked one in eight innings.
Stroman used four pitches in his arsenal to baffle the Rays and allowed fewer than two earned runs for the first time this season. Despite a solid 3.77 ERA, he has an exceptional 0.95 WHIP and has not allowed more than six hits in any start.
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Stroman turned 25 on Sunday and celebrated with his best outing of the season in the 5-1 win. He was the stopper that day and has been the ace of the staff early in the year. Stroman helped the Jays take the series on day after Tampa Bay won in walkoff fashion.
The Jays have leaned on their rotation while waiting for the offense to start producing like last season. The leaders in runs scored in 2015, Toronto’s offense has yet to take shape. Entering the week, the Jays are 0-11 when allowing four or more runs, putting pressure on the pitching staff. When the offense clicks, the team is much like last year’s. The Jays are 11-4 when they score four or more runs, but 1-10 when they don’t.
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The job Maeda has done is quite phenomenal. But it’s not like he tore up the league in Japan and he got knocked down a peg in his last outing; clear signs that he’s sliding down to average level. After all, he is no Clayton Kershaw. And we’re still waiting for the Blue Jays to wake up offensively. I guess we got spoiled by their bashing last MLB season and it just hasn’t been the same. But the bashers are still there and it’s likely just a matter of time before we see some fireworks. As good as the Dodgers righty has been, he’s due to get roughed up a little.
MLB Odds: Toronto 6, Los Angeles 3
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