The Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics meet Friday in MLB game 1 action at Oakland Coliseum. Here’s a Oakland Athletics vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction.
Toronto Blue Jays Betting Preview
The Toronto Blue Jays are 30-32 on the year after wins over the Pirates and Orioles. The Toronto Blue Jays have scored 10 runs in their last 3 games and 3 or fewer runs in 5 of their last 8 games. The Toronto Blue Jays have lost 5 of their last 7 games when scoring 3 or fewer runs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the Toronto Blue Jays with 70 hits and 30 RBI, while Bo Bichette and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have combined for 103 hits and 45 RBI.
Oakland Athletics Betting Preview
The Oakland Athletics are 25-39 on the year after losses to the Braves and Mariners. The Oakland Athletics have scored 5 runs in their last 3 games and 3 or fewer runs in 5 of their last 6 games. The Oakland Athletics have lost 5 of their last 6 games when scoring 3 or fewer runs. Abraham Toro leads the Oakland Athletics with 63 hits and 21 RBI, while JJ Bleday and Brent Rooker have combined for 105 hits and 61 RBI.
Toronto Blue Jays vs Oakland Athletics Pitching Matchup
Chris Bassitt gets the ball for the Toronto Blue Jays, and he is 6-6 with a 4.13 ERA and 63 strikeouts this season. Bassitt has allowed 3 hits and 3 runs in his last 10 innings. Bassitt has a 4.15 ERA and .279 allowed batting average in 26 road innings. Bassitt is 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 18 strikeouts in his career against the Oakland Athletics.
Hogan Harris gets the ball for the Oakland Athletics, and he is 0-0 with a 3.14 ERA and 15 strikeouts this season. Harris has allowed 12 hits and 5 earned runs in 14.1 innings this season. Harris has a 6.40 ERA and 1.46 WHIP through 77.1 career innings. This will be Harris’ second career game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Why the Toronto Blue Jays will win
- The Athletics have lost 10 of their last 11 night games after playing the previous day.
- The Blue Jays have won five of their last six games against teams that held a losing record.
- The road team has covered the run line in nine of the Blue Jays’ last 10 games.
- The Athletics have failed to cover the run line in six of their last seven home games against teams that held a losing record.
- The Blue Jays have led after 3 innings in each of their last three road games.
- The Athletics have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last 11 Friday games as underdogs.
Oakland Athletics Player Prop Facts
- Brent Rooker has hit a home run in three of his last four Friday appearances at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
- Brent Rooker has recorded at least one hit in each of his 12 previous Friday appearances against teams that held a losing record.
- Brent Rooker has recorded at least one total base in each of his 12 previous Friday appearances against teams that held a losing record.
- J.D. Davis has recorded at least one Single in each of his last five appearances in night games.
- Brent Rooker ranks 10th amongst qualified players for Slugging Percentage (.541) this season.
Toronto Blue Jays Player Prop Facts
- Daulton Varsho has recorded a Double in each of the Blue Jays’ last three games as favorites.
- Danny Jansen has hit a home run in three of his last four appearances against the Athletics after playing the previous day.
- Bo Bichette has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Blue Jays’ last four road games against opponents that held a losing record.
- George Springer has scored at least one run in each of the Blue Jays’ last six night games.
- Chris Bassitt has recorded a win in four of his last five appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
- Chris Bassitt has recorded six or more strikeouts in five of his last six road appearances against AL opponents.
- Bo Bichette has recorded at least one Single in each of the Blue Jays’ last five night games against AL opponents that held a losing record.
- Justin Turner has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 13 appearances with his team as a favorite against the Athletics.
- Justin Turner has recorded at least one total base in each of his last 13 appearances against the Athletics.
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ranks 8th amongst qualified players for On Base Percentage (.388) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Oakland Athletics rank 29th in the league for strikeouts against this season (620).
- The Oakland Athletics rank 28th in the league for batting average this season (.221).
- The Toronto Blue Jays rank 2nd in the league for strikeouts against this season (441).
- The Toronto Blue Jays rank 29th in the league for home runs allowed this season (83).
Oakland Athletics vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction
The Toronto Blue Jays are showing flashes of getting their act together, and this is a series they simply need to take advantage of if they’re going to keep chipping away in the standings. The Oakland Athletics aren’t a good team, and they’re not playing as well as they were earlier in the season when they would cash as big underdogs. Hogan Harris doesn’t have a large enough sample size to make a case for the underdog role. On paper, you can make a case the Blue Jays should be bigger favorites. I’ll lay the soft price with the Blue Jays on the road.