Phillies vs Blue Jays 08/20/20 – Odds and MLB Betting Trends
3 years ago
by OddsShark (@OddsShark) – Sponsored Post
Some noticeable OVER trends abound as the Toronto Blue Jays take on a top offensive team in a doubleheader at their temporary home ballpark that seems to be a launching pad for slugfests.
The Blue Jays host the Philadelphia Phillies in a doubleheader on Thursday, with MLB betting odds set to be posted at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Blue Jays are 10-10 in their last 20 home games against NL East opponents, with the total finishing OVER 14 times. The Phillies are 12-8 in their last 20 away games against AL East foes, but the total has only gone OVER seven times.
Centerfielder Randal Grichuk has hit six home runs in as many games, pushing his OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) to 1.056. Grichuk has helped the Blue Jays’ offense rank 24th out of 30 MLB teams in on-base percentage (.305) and seventh in slugging percentage (.445). The Phillies are a solid third at getting on base (.344) and rank second in slugging (.463), which is why they are averaging 5.6 runs per game to Toronto’s 4.5.
So far, the total has gone OVER at betting sites in four of the Blue Jays’ five home games at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, with an average total of 13.4. Neither team has a front-end starter scheduled for the back-to-back seven-inning games on Thursday.
Toronto’s Chase Anderson (0-0, 3.00 ERA, 6.0 strikeouts per nine innings) and Phillies rookie Spencer Howard (0-1, 7.88 ERA, 6.8 SO/9) are the scheduled starters for the first game. Anderson’s teams are 10-7 in his career when he starts a game in August, with the total going OVER in 10 of those 17 matchups. He has a 6.75 ERA in six career starts against Philadelphia, and the .354 on-base and .509 slugging percentages he has allowed are his highest against any opponent he has faced at least four times.
The total has gone OVER in both of Howard’s starts this season, including his August 14 outing where he incurred a blister problem.
Trent Thornton (0-0, 2.25 ERA, 6.8 SO/9 in one 2020 start) starts opposite Vince Velasquez (0-1, 7.88, ERA 12.4 SO/9) in the second game. Thornton, who is returning from the injured list after a bout of right elbow inflammation, showed progress as a rookie in 2019 that might have been reflected in the total finishing UNDER in four of his last five starts at home (at Rogers Centre, not Sahlen Field, of course). The Phillies are 6-3 in Velasquez’s last nine starts on the road, with the total finishing OVER five times.
After today’s interleague twinbill, the Blue Jays will play their next 11 games within the AL East, starting with a four-game away series against the Tampa Bay Rays that begins on Friday.
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