This isn’t exactly a powerhouse matchup between division leaders, but both the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays are still in the mix in the AL, each sitting around-.500. In the third game of this three-game series, we get a bit of a mismatch pitching matchup in favor of the visiting A’s who will send Sean Manaea to the hill opposite Joe Biagini. The Jays will hope home field—and country—advantage helps them overcome the mismatch.
First pitch for the game between the Athletics and Blue Jays is scheduled for Saturday, May 19, 2018, at 1:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre. The matchup will be shown on Fox Sports 1.
You can bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
Odds Analysis
A few years ago, the Blue Jays had the best offense in baseball. That was when Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista—both in their primes—were belting dingers, Josh Donaldson was consistently healthy and rest of the order all seemed to produce career high numbers.
Now, the team has completely changed and last year, the offense struggled. Here in 2018, however, the Jays are getting good offense once again, but this time, it’s coming from Donaldson—when healthy—and a group of good, but not star, players like: Justin Smoak, Curtis Granderson, Kevin Pillar, Yangervis Solarte and Teoscar Hernandez.
Hernandez has given the team a huge boost. The outfielder didn’t make the team out of Spring Training, but has done nothing but hit since coming up. He’s batting .272 with seven bombs in 30 games.
All in all, this is just a group of good ballplayers, playing well together. They’re not the most prolific power team and Solarte’s nine bombs leads the team. That said, everyone in the order has power and the hero often changes. Of course, the team could still use better production from a few players. Russell Martin’s batting .167 and up the middle remains a question with Richard Urena and Gio Urshela the latest options. With Donaldson back—provided he can play third—Solarte can take second, but short is still an issue. Aledmys Diaz and Troy Tulowitzki are both injured.
On the other side, the A’s also boast a strong, blue-collar type offense. The Jays have outscored Oakland on the year, but the A’s have the edge in the average and OBP departments.
Overall, the Athletics have a deep lineup. Stephen Piscotty is the only regular with an OPS+ below 99. On the other end, Jed Lowrie leads the team with a 156 OPS+, he’s falling back to earth after a torrid start to the year, but while he’s cooling, others are stepping up. Khris Davis remains a major power threat, Jonathan Lucroy and Matthew Joyce are getting on base at a high rate.
Probable Pitchers
Sean Manaea entered the national spotlight after no-hitting the then-red-hot Boston Red Sox on April 21. His no-no was the first on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.23 while improving his record to 3-2.
From there, Manaea delivered another strong outing, holding the Astros to a single unearned run over seven frames in his next start. Through April, he was 4-2 with a 1.03 ERA.
Since then, however, Manaea has been a bit more hittable. He’s allowed at least three runs in each of his three May starts, giving up 11 runs in 17.2 innings. He allowed five earned runs in six April starts.
Overall, Manaea still has a great season going. He’s 5-4 with a 2.35 ERA and 0.799 WHIP in 61.1 innings. Interestingly, in an era of high strikeout rates, Manaea is striking out 7.2 per nine innings, right in line with his career numbers. He’s instead inducing weak contact which allowes him to stay in the game longer. It’s also forgoing the K in favor of keeping his walks in check. He’s walked only eight batters all year long.
While Manaea hasn’t been as strong his last three starts, he’s still been the A’s best pitcher. The same cannot be said for Joe Biagini.
Biagini finds himself in the Majors and the rotation to fill in for Marcus Stroman who went on the DL with a 7.71 ERA. It wouldn’t take much to improve on that number, but instead, Biagini has allowed 13 runs in 14.2 innings spread over three starts, going 0-2. He’s been awful in his chances to start going 2-14 with a 6.05 ERA as a starter in his career.
He hasn’t looked any better in his chances this year. His 6.14 FIP and 1.841 WHIP help tell the story why he’s struggled. His command is poor and he struggles with his second and third pitches.
Live Betting
The A’s have an edge on the mound and while the Jays have scored more runs than Oakland this year, the offenses are even overall.
If the Jays are to bridge the difference in this game, they’ll have to do it on defense or in the bullpen. Defensively, neither team is that great. Toronto does have Martin behind the plate and Kevin Pillar in center so that’s something, but the rest haven’t been great. The A’s have never been known as a rangy or defensively sound team.
As for the bullpens, the Jays have thrown well out of the pen, but with Roberto Osuna out due to his arrest, everyone in the pen needs to move back in the game. Tyler Clippard and Seunghwan Oh have gotten the save chances in Osuna’s absence while John Axford has helped cover the final few innings. Fortunately, the Jays’ pen has been rather deep this year with so many former closers.
In Oakland, Blake Treinen gets the ninth inning. He failed in that role with the Nationals last year, but has been lights out since his midseason trade to the A’s last year. In a less pressured environment, he’s blossomed to produce a 1.33 ERA and eight saves in 20.1 innings. Those setting up for Treinen aren’t quite as good as the arms in Toronto though Lou Trivino has quietly put together a very strong season and Santiago Casilla has continued to get the job done.
MLB Pick
Biagini was big for the Jays in his rookie season out of the pen, but hasn’t shown he can be a dependable big-league starter. Nevertheless, he gets another start here due to injuries.
Oakland’s offense is pretty good. Look for the A’s to get a couple early runs off Biagini. Manaea hasn’t been the same pitcher since his no-hitter, but he’s still a better starter than Biagini. Look for Manaea to give a quality start and hand the ball over to the bullpen with the lead.
In the end, the A’s close this one out and grab the win in the third game of a four-game road series north of the border.
MLB Odds: Athletics 7, Blue Jays 4
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today!
