The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to complete a three-game sweep and pick up their fourth win in a row overall when they host the Washington Nationals on Wednesday afternoon at the Rogers Centre.
Bo Bichette hit a tie-breaking two-run single in the eighth inning, and starting pitcher José Berríos allowed only two runs in just under six innings of work to lift Toronto to a 5-3 win over the Nationals on Tuesday night. Toronto has now won three straight games, holding its opponents to three runs or less in each of those contests.
Washington is just 1-4 to begin the new campaign and will be desperate to salvage the final game of this series with its ace on the mound. It won’t get any easier for the Nationals over the next week, as they’ll host the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers following this series with Toronto.
Let’s dive into the game odds for Wednesday’s series finale between the Nationals and Blue Jays courtesy of bet365.

Nationals vs. Blue Jays odds

Nationals moneyline odds
-135
Blue Jays moneyline odds
+115
Runline odds
Nationals -1.5 (+130), Blue Jays +1.5 (-155)
Game total
Over 8 runs (-115), Under 8 (-105)
Date/Time
April 2, 3:07 p.m. ET

About the Nationals (1-4 SU, 1-4 ATS, 2-3 o/u)

Washington’s bullpen imploded again on Tuesday, with Jose Ferrer allowing a two-run single in the eighth inning that proved to be the difference in the game. Nationals relievers have surrendered 20 runs across 16 2/3 innings to begin the season and collectively own a dreadful 9.18 ERA. They’ve walked more than a batter per inning (18 in 16 2/3 innings) and coughed up three home runs over five games.
Catcher Keibert Ruiz continued his hot start with a two-run single to extend his hitting streak to five games to begin the season. He’s slashing .412/.474/.824 with two homers and RBIs.

About the Blue Jays (4-2 SU, 4-2 ATS, 3-3 o/u)

Berríos bounced back from a horrific performance in the season opener (six ER on nine hits over five innings) against Baltimore to hold the Nationals to two runs over 5 2/3 innings while striking out eight, but the Blue Jays will be relying on unproven lefty Easton Lucas to make a spot start on Wednesday (more on that below).
Bo Bichette is looking like his old self again after a two-hit performance Tuesday. He’s now recorded three multi-hit games to lift his on-base percentage to .444 with a .903 OPS while also leading the team (and the AL) in hits with nine. He now has +600 odds at bet365 to win the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award after opening the season with +750 odds.

Probable starting pitchers

Washington: LHP MacKenzie Gore (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 19.50 K/9)
Gore’s first start of the campaign couldn’t have gone much better, as the young lefty held the Phillies to one hit while recording 13 strikeouts over six shutout frames. The 26-year-old hurler really turned it on last September, posting a sparkling 1.26 ERA with 35 strikeouts across his final five starts, and he finally appears to be living up to his ace potential.
Toronto: LHP Easton Lucas (2024 stats: 1-0 10.80 ERA, 7.71 K/9)
Lucas will be making his first MLB start on Tuesday in place of the injured Max Scherzer. The 28-year-old southpaw appeared in eight games while playing for three different teams last year and has never thrown more than three innings in a single outing at the MLB level, so don’t expect a lengthy appearance from him in this spot. Toronto’s bullpen is relatively fresh, with only Yariel Rodríguez throwing more than 30 pitches over the last three days, and the Blue Jays are off Thursday before beginning their next series with the New York Mets, so they don’t have to worry about managing the bullpen workload as much in this spot.

Notable injuries

The Nationals have no new injuries to report.
As for the Blue Jays, outfielder Daulton Varsho (shoulder) and pitchers Ryan Burr (shoulder), Scherzer (lat), and Erik Swanson (forearm) are all on the injured list.

Weather

It should be a rainy and cold night in Toronto, so the retractable roof at Rogers Centre will certainly be closed.

Nationals vs. Blue Jays betting trends

  • The Blue Jays have only covered the runline in 25 of their past 75 home games.
  • The over is 7-3 in the past 10 meetings.

Nationals vs. Blue Jays player prop trends

  • Gore has struck out nine or more batters in each of his last three starts dating back to last season. His line is 5.5 strikeouts (around +105 odds on the over) for this matchup. He’s also allowed two earned runs or less in nine of his last 10 outings. Oddsmakers have set odds around -160 for him to record under 2.5 earned runs.
  • With another hit on Tuesday, Andres Gimenez extended his hitting streak to nine games dating back to the playoffs last season. He’s around -215 to get a hit, but you might get more value backing him in the hits + runs + RBIs betting market at over 1.5 where he has -110 odds.
  • George Springer is off to a nice start, driving in at least one run in three straight games. He’s around +210 to record another RBI on Wednesday afternoon.

Nationals vs. Blue Jays best bet

  • Nationals first five innings moneyline: -115 (best odds @bet365). Gore is beaming with confidence after silencing the bats of a very good Phillies squad, and that momentum should carry over to this start in Toronto. We’re getting great value on the Nationals with their ace on the mound here, but Washington’s bullpen can’t be trusted right now to back it on the full-game moneyline. Let’s bank on the Nationals getting an early lead with this lopsided starting pitching matchup and at least holding it until Gore departs, likely after the fifth inning.