Following a rainout on Wednesday, the Yankees and Blue Jays will conclude a three-game AL East series in the Bronx with a doubleheader Thursday night. It’ll be a battle between lefties when Jordan Montgomery hits the hill in the nightcap for New York against Robbie Ray for the Jays. Here’s how we homeworked this game with our free MLB pick.
MLB Betting Odds
Thursday’s baseball betting odds opened New York and Montgomery at around -120 for the second game of this twin-bill, with an over/under of seven runs. Remember, this game is only slated for seven innings.
Blue Jays-Yankees MLB Betting Preview
Toronto won the opener of this series Tuesday night, 6-2. Wednesday’s game was then rained out, so the teams are playing two Thursday.
Tuesday’s victory snapped a six-game losing skid for the Blue Jays.
Tuesday’s loss, meanwhile, snapped a six-game winning streak for New York.
At 28-20 overall, the Yankees are playing a shade off the pace against their wins over/under for this season of 95.5, which was the second-highest total in the League.
At 24-23 overall, Toronto is also just off the pace as it chases a wins O/U of 86.5.
The Blue Jays lead the season series with New York five games to two.
Thursday’s Pitching Match-Up
By our strict standards, Montgomery is only 3/9 on quality starts this season but two for his last three. Last Friday, he held the White Sox, who we rank as the No. 1 lineup in Baseball against left-handed pitching this season, scoreless on four hits through seven innings, with zero walks and 11 strikeouts. And over his last three starts, he’s allowed six runs and 12 hits through 16 innings, with three walks and 24 whiffs.
New York is 6-3 with Montgomery this season, 3-1 over his last four starts.
In two starts last season against Toronto, Montgomery gave up five runs and 12 hits over 8 2/3 innings. The Yankees lost both those games.
Ray, also according to our tough standards, is only 2/8 on quality starts this season, but he’s come close several other times. Last Saturday, he held Tampa Bay to one run and five hits through seven innings, with zero walks and seven K’s, although the Jays lost that game 3-1. And over his last three starts, he’s allowed eight runs and 17 hits (including six home runs) through 18 2/3 innings, with one walk and 26 strikeouts.
Toronto is 4-4 with Ray this season, 4-1 over his last five starts.
Over his last two starts against the Yankees, one last year and one about six weeks ago, Ray allowed just three runs – two earned – and six hits through nine innings. The Jays split those two games.
Splits With the Sticks
Toronto is batting .254 against left-handed pitching this season, with a .315 team OBP and a .430 team slugging percentage. The Jays have also scored at least six runs six times over their last nine games.
New York is batting .244/.309/.390 against LH pitching this season. But this lineup could be without four big regular sticks Thursday night, with Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Hicks, and Luke Voit all listed as either out or questionable. Bettors might want to check the lineups before getting down on this game.
- Get more details: TOR/NYY 5/27/21 Game 2 Matchup Stats
The Bullpens
The Blue Jays bullpen owns a 3.59 ERA this season, along with a 1.27 WHIP and a 2.27 K/BB ratio.
The Yankees bullpen owns a 3.00 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and a 3.17 K/BB ratio. Numbers like those lead us to rank this unit among the top three bullpens in Baseball at the moment.
Blue Jays-Yankees MLB Betting Trends
- Toronto is 14-12 in “true” road games this season.
- New York is 14-10 at home this season.
- Toronto is 5-5 against left-handed starters this season.
- New York is 7-7 vs. LH starters this season.
Totals Report
- Unders are 24-22 in Jays’ games this season.
- Unders are 29-18 in Yankees games this season.
- Unders are 6-1 in Jays-Yankees games this season.
- Unders are a combined 10-6 with Montgomery and Ray this season.
