The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to complete a four-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon.
Toronto eked out a 2-1 victory over Boston in 11 innings on Wednesday night to extend its winning streak to three games and improve to 8-5 on the season, the best record in the American League East.
After winning five straight games to get back over .500, the Red Sox have now lost three straight to drop one game below .500 entering the series finale.
Let’s take a look at the game odds for Thursday’s battle between the Blue Jays and Red Sox courtesy of bet365.
Blue Jays vs. Red Sox odds
Blue Jays moneyline odds | +100 |
Red Sox moneyline odds | -120 |
Runline odds | Red Sox -1.5 (+165), Blue Jays +1.5 (-200) |
Total | Over 8.5 runs (-120), Under 8.5 (+100) |
Date/Time | April 10, 4:10 p.m. ET |
About the Blue Jays (8-5 SU, 10-3 ATS, 3-10 o/u)
Another game, another solid outing from a Toronto starting pitcher. Kevin Gausman was electric on Wednesday, tossing eight innings of one-run ball while compiling 10 strikeouts. Toronto starters now have an impressive 2.54 ERA, the second-best mark in baseball behind the New York Mets, while holding opposing batters to just a .204 batting average. In this series, Toronto pitchers have held the Red Sox, who were averaging over six runs per game coming in, to just four runs total over the first three games.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. collected a game-high three hits Wednesday after his monstrous 14-year contract extension became official earlier in the day, but we’re still waiting for his first home run of the season. He’s not alone, though, as Anthony Santander, Bo Bichette, and Alejandro Kirk are also homerless through the first 13 games. Andres Gimenez surprisingly leads the team with three long balls.
About the Red Sox (6-7 SU, 7-6 ATS, 4-8-1 o/u)
The Red Sox are experiencing a serious power outage during this frosty series with Toronto, plating just four times through the first three games of this series.
They’ve been uncharacteristically chasing pitches out of the strike zone, striking out a whopping 30 times to this point in the series. Toronto pitchers sat down 14 Red Sox batters on Wednesday night, with rookie sensation Kristian Campbell accounting for three of those punchouts. Expect a more patient approach at the plate from the Red Sox on Thursday as they attempt to salvage the final game of this series before heading off to Chicago to play the White Sox.
Probable starting pitchers
Toronto: RHP Chris Bassitt (1-0, 0.71 ERA, 11.37 K/9)
Bassitt has been superb through his first two starts, holding both the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles to just one total run over 12 2/3 innings of work. He racked up nine strikeouts last time he took the mound against the Mets and seven in his first outing against Baltimore. He posted a 2.63 ERA in four starts against Boston last year while holding the Red Sox to a .239 team batting average.
Boston: RHP Walker Buehler (1-1, 8.68 ERA, 6.75 K/9)
It hasn’t been a good start to Buehler’s tenure with the Red Sox after his impressive postseason run with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year. He was shelled for five runs on seven hits last time out against the St. Louis Cardinals, and he’s given up three homers through his first two starts. The righty uses seven pitches to keep hitters off balance, but only his sweeper and sinker have been effective through his first two starts. Opposing batters are hitting a juicy .375 off his fastball and .400 off his cutter.
Notable injuries
Boston is missing several key pitchers due to injury right now, including Kutter Crawford (knee), Liam Hendriks (elbow), Lucas Giolito (hamstring), and Brayan Bello (shoulder). Designated hitter Masataka Yoshida (shoulder) and catcher Connor Wong (finger) are also on the shelf.
As for the Blue Jays, outfielder Daulton Varsho (shoulder) and pitchers Ryan Burr (shoulder), Erik Swanson (forearm), and Max Scherzer (thumb) are all on the injured list.
Weather
The afternoon start time will give these players slightly more favourable weather conditions than they’ve experienced in the first three games of this series, as temperatures are expected to reach 9 C by first pitch under sunny skies. Winds will blow from right field to left field at 10 mph.
Blue Jays vs. Red Sox betting trends
- The under is 10-0 in Toronto’s last 10 games.
- The under is 8-1 in the past nine meetings between these teams.
- The Red Sox have hit the first five innings team total under in six of their last seven games.
Blue Jays vs. Red Sox player prop trends
- George Springer has been a good bet in the hits + runs + RBIs betting market, clearing his line of 1.5 in seven of his last nine games. He has around -135 odds to beat that number again.
- These teams have combined for just one home run (Springer) through the first three games of this series, likely due to the extremely cold playing conditions this week at Fenway Park.
- Bassitt has beaten his strikeouts line of 5.5 in both of his starts this season and six of his last eight dating back to last season. He’s around -140 to beat this number again against a Red Sox team that struck out 14 times on Wednesday.
Blue Jays vs. Red Sox predictions
- Buehler over 2.5 earned runs: -105 for one unit (best odds at Pinnacle). Buehler hasn’t looked good through two starts, as the opposition is barreling him up 12.1% of the time when compared to 6.9% last year, and his hard-hit rate is a lofty 42.4%. Yes, it’s a small sample size, but Toronto will have some momentum after Wednesday’s extra-innings win, and we’re due for a bit of offence after three sleepy games in bitterly cold conditions. With temperatures rising slightly on Thursday, Toronto should be able to hang at least three runs on the veteran right-hander before he departs.
- Rafael Devers over 1.5 total bases: +135 for one unit (best odds at Pinnacle). Devers will be licking his lips when he steps up to the plate against Bassitt. Boston’s franchise player is 7-for-14 with three homers, two doubles, and five RBIs in his career against the veteran right-hander, and he’s beaten this line in four of his last six games overall. He also amassed four total bases against Toronto on Wednesday and is slashing .423/.500/.700 over the last seven days.