MLB Baseball Betting: Oakland Athletics at Toronto Blue Jays

What a difference a year makes. The Oakland A’s are having a nightmare season that finds them in last place in the American League West a full 10 games behind division leading Houston. Toronto, meanwhile, is right in the thick of things in the AL East and currently trail the first place New York Yankees by a single game. The A’s have been playing better of late winning 6 of their last 10 games including three straight. Toronto, meanwhile, is likely the hottest team in baseball at the moment having won eight straight and 11 of 13. This is something of a ‘sandwich series’ for the Blue Jays–they swept the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium over the weekend and will play the Yankees again this weekend at the Rogers Centre. Granted, ‘sandwich’ spots aren’t as significant in baseball as in football or, to a lesser extent, basketball and hockey.

The Jays will start Drew Hutchinson–he’s been excellent at the Rogers Centre this year with a 2.69 ERA and Toronto has won 9 of his 11 home starts. His most recent outings have been downright bizarre. The good news–Toronto has won his last three starts. The bad news–Hutchinson put up a 7.07 ERA in that stretch. Hutchinson hasn’t been incredibly effective of late–that 7.07 ERA is a result of 11 earned runs in 14 innings of work. Then again, the way the Jays have been giving him run support it might not matter–in Hutchinson’s last three starts Toronto has scored 24 runs for an average of 8 per game. If Hutchinson can get the ball over the plate the Jays have a chance to win.

Oakland will start Kendall Graveman who has pitched fairly well this year though the A’s have lost his last three starts. Graveman really had only one bad start in that stretch–the problem is the opposite of what Toronto pitchers have experienced: no run support. The Athletics have scored only 7 runs in Graveman’s last three starts and that’s not going to get it done no matter how well a pitcher is going.

The price is steep but given the disparity in form between these two teams it’s not surprising. We just can’t see getting in front of the Blue Jays’ freight train at this point.

BET TORONTO BLUE JAYS -195 OVER OAKLAND ATHLETICS