The AL East is up for grabs and both the Rays and Jays are in the middle of the race. The teams start the second half of the season in a crucial division battle looking to gain ground.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Part of the reason why the Tampa Bay Rays are in second place in the AL East, one game ahead of the Blue Jays in the standings at the All-Star break, is their dominance over Toronto this season. Tampa Bay has won seven of the 10 meetings between the clubs this year, up 4.17 units in those games. The Rays took three of four in Toronto back in April, limiting the Jays to five runs in their wins. Tampa Bay has done a nice job against the major’s highest scoring offense, holding Toronto to three or fewer runs in eight of their meetings with the under at 6-3-1 in the season series.
Tampa Bay endured a prolonged slide that saw them lose 15 of 18 games before finishing the first half strong with a three-game sweep of the Astros to knock them out of first place in the AL West. The Rays ended the first half with a winning record (46-45) and 3.5 games behind the Yankees in the division. The Jays were licking their wounds as the first half ended losing 10 of 14 games.
PITCHING MATCHUP
The Rays have yet to name their rotation for the series but we’re likely to see Chris Archer, who pitched 1.1 innings in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Manager Kevin Cash has a surplus of arms to pick from and if not Archer, we could see Matt Moore or Jake Odorizzi. Cash really can’t go wrong with any of his young hurlers who have all pitched exceptionally well.
The Blue Jays will counter with R.A. Dickey (3-10, 4.87 ERA), who got off to a slow start this year but has been much better since the beginning of June. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in seven of his past eight starts, but has just one win over that span because of a lack of run support. He gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings at Chicago on July 9, but was saddled with the loss as the Jays were shutout.
Dickey has lost all three starts against the Rays this season posting a 6.11 ERA and 1.64 WHIP across 17.2 innings. He’s allowed 20 hits and walked nine with only eight strikeouts.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“We needed it. Not that the morale was scuffling, but we were scuffling as a team, and we needed to play better, play well, and we did. We got knocked down and we got up and played really good baseball these three games.” – Rays manager Kevin Cash after sweeping a three-game set from Houston following a stretch of 15 losses in 18 games.
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
The Blue Jays headed into the All-Star break on the heels of a game that perfectly summed up their first half of the season: plenty of hitting and not enough pitching. Toronto fell behind 7-0 Sunday at Kansas City, before rallying to take a lead and then ultimately dropping the contest, 11-10. The offense did its job but once again the starting rotation and bullpen couldn’t hold up their end of the deal. That’s the way things have gone for the Blue Jays in 2015. The league’s best offense, scoring 5.34 runs with a .772 OPS, is on a team that’s one game below .500 because of a starters ERA (4.46) that ranks 13th in the AL and a bullpen that has been charged with 13 blown saves.
PROP TALK
This series will feature a battle of premier third basemen with Toronto’s Josh Donaldson and Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria. In his first season in the AL East, Donaldson has owned the division, batting .302 with five home runs and 23 RBIs in 40 divisional contests, including a .333 (12 for 36) clip against the Rays. Throughout his career, Longoria has enjoyed success against the Blue Jays, batting .304 with 19 home runs and 87 RBIs in 451 at-bats over 124 career games against them. He’s hitting a ridiculous .438 (14 for 32) against the Jays this season.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Tampa Bay played through its rough stretch where they dropped 15 of 18 games just before the break and the Rays’ young staff has handled the mighty Blue Jays offense rather easily this season, taking seven of 10 entering the weekend. Tampa Bay must rely on its pitching because they lack the firepower on offense and a few poor outings from the hurlers could mean another rough go. R.A. Dickey has pitched much better lately, though his record doesn’t show it, and the Blue Jays rally around their veteran hurler to get a win.
Toronto 7, Tampa Bay 4
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 Tampa Bay Rays versus the Toronto Blue Jays will commence Saturday, July 18, 2015, at 1:07 p.m. ET at Rogers Centre. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
