After taking the opener of this AL East series Friday night, the Rays shoot another victory against the Blue Jays at Toronto’s temporary home down in Dunedin Saturday night. Tampa Bay rides an eight-game winning streak into Saturday while the Jays lug a three-game losing skid. Lefty Robbie Ray gets the start on the mound here for Toronto (Ray, pitching against the Rays) while rookie lefty Shane McClanahan goes for Tampa. Here’s what we’re looking at when handicapping this game with our free MLB pick.
MLB Betting Odds
Saturday’s baseball betting market opened Toronto and Ray at around -120 over Tampa and McClanahan, with an over/under of nine runs. In early betting action the numbers have held depending on which sportsbook you lay your action at.
Rays-Jays MLB Betting Preview
Tampa Bay took the opener of this series Friday night, 9-7. That game was tied at 5-5 into extra innings before Tampa basically won it on a grand slam by Francisco Mejia in the top of the 12th inning. The Rays won Friday as -150 favorites and hung on for the cover against the run line at a price of -105. Also, Friday’s game played over its total of nine runs in the sixth inning. Earlier this week, Tampa swept three games in Baltimore, and last weekend the Rays swept three games from the Mets. At 27-19 overall, Tampa Bay is playing ahead of pace against its wins over/under for this season of 85.5. Toronto, meanwhile, lost a series to Boston earlier this week. But prior to that, the Jays won back-to-back series against Philadelphia and Atlanta. At 23-20 overall, Toronto is also playing ahead of pace to beat its wins O/U of 86.5. These teams have split four meetings this season.
Saturday’s Pitching Match-Up
Ray, by our strict standards, is only 1/7 on quality starts this season. Last Sunday, he gave up four runs and seven hits, including three home runs, through 5 2/3 innings of a 10-8 Toronto victory over Philadelphia. And over his last three starts, he’s allowed ten runs and 18 hits, including seven dingers, through 17 2/3 innings, although he’s also recorded 28 strikeouts against just one walk over that span. On the season, the Blue Jays are 4-3 with Ray, 4-0 over his last four starts. In his most recent start against Tampa Bay, one month ago, Ray allowed three runs and six hits, including two homers, through six frames of a 5-3 Toronto loss. Rookie McClanahan is 0/4 on quality starts this year, although he’s also been on a short leash. Last Saturday, he gave up four runs and six hits, including a couple of homers, through 5 1/3 innings against the Mets, although Tampa won that game anyway 12-5. And over his three starts previous to that, he allowed five runs and 11 hits through 12 innings, with four walks and 15 whiffs. The Rays are 3-1 with McClanahan this season, 3-0 over his last three starts. This will be McClanahan’s first-ever start against Toronto, which could give him an edge, at least for the first couple of times through the lineup.
Splits With the Sticks
Tampa Bay is batting .223 against left-handed pitching this season, with a .294 team OBP and a .380 team slugging percentage. But the Rays have also scored 72 runs over their last eight games. Toronto is batting .254/.323/.410 against LH pitching this season. The Jays have also scored 35 runs over their last five games.
- Get more details: Rays vs. Jays 5/22/21 Matchup Stats
The Bullpens
The Tampa bullpen owns a 3.53 ERA this season, along with a 1.20 WHIP and a 2.87 K/BB ratio. The Toronto pen owns a 3.33 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, and a 2.42 K/BB ratio.
MLB Betting Trends
- Tampa is an ML-best 16-7 on the road this season.
- Toronto is 10-8 at its temporary home this season.
- Tampa is 10-7 against left-handed starters this season.
- Toronto is 5-3 against LH starters this season.
- Tampa is 10-7 as an underdog this season.
Totals Report
Overs are 27-19 in Rays games this season. Unders are 22-20 in Jays’ games this season. Overs are 11-9 in games played at TD Ballpark this season.
