The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to avoid a fourth-straight loss when they visit the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a four-game series at Fenway Park on Monday night.
Toronto suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of the Mets in New York over the weekend, scoring just three runs in the process. They’ll now continue their 10-game road trip in Boston before finishing in Baltimore this upcoming weekend.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, are trending in the opposite direction after completing a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals at home over the weekend. They took both contests of Sunday’s doubleheader with the Cardinals, winning the nightcap by a lopsided score of 18-7.
Let’s dive into the game odds for Monday’s series opener between the Blue Jays and Red Sox courtesy of bet365.
Blue Jays vs. Red Sox odds
Blue Jays moneyline odds | +110 |
Red Sox moneyline odds | -130 |
Runline odds | Red Sox -1.5 (+145), Blue Jays +1.5 (-170) |
Total | Over 8.5 runs (-120), Under 8.5 (+100) |
Date/Time | April 7, 6:45 p.m. ET |
About the Blue Jays (5-5 SU, 7-3 ATS, 3-7 o/u)
Sure, the Blue Jays got swept over the weekend by a very good Mets team, but that’s all being overshadowed by the news that broke Sunday night that slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had reportedly agreed to a 14-year, $500 million extension with the club, making him a Blue Jay for life. Ironically, news of the deal broke just before this upcoming series at Fenway Park, as the Red Sox were one of the favourites, according to multiple MLB insiders, to sign the first baseman via free agency this winter had Toronto not worked out an extension.
Guerrero’s contract situation has been a huge distraction for the club since players reported to spring camp, so this should allow everyone in the organization to breathe and now focus purely on competing this season. Of course, Bo Bichette’s expiring contract is also a talking point, but there’s no question now that Vladdy is the franchise player moving forward.
The first baseman is off to a mediocre start by his standards, posting a .256/.333/.333 slash line through the first 10 games. He’s yet to hit a home run this season, but he’s historically raked at Fenway Park, posting an incredible .356/.434/.622 slash line with nine home runs and 31 RBIs in 46 games at the historic venue.
About the Red Sox (6-4 SU, 7-3 ATS, 4-5-1 o/u)
The Red Sox are flying high after breaking out offensively Sunday night, putting up 18 runs on 22 hits versus the Cardinals. Surprisingly, Alex Bregman had the only homer, a three-run shot in the third inning, as they did most of their damage by keeping the ball inside the ballpark.
Boston will be at a disadvantage from a bullpen perspective, entering this game after playing twice on Sunday. Every reliever except Zack Kelly saw action on Sunday, so the Red Sox will be hoping to get at least five or six innings out of their starting pitcher, Richard Fitts, on Monday against the Blue Jays.
Boston is averaging 6.3 runs per game, which ranks fourth in the Major Leagues through 10 games, and is also among the league leaders in team batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, and stolen bases.
Probable starting pitchers
Toronto: LHP Easton Lucas (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.40 K/9)
Lucas was excellent in his first Major League start, holding the Washington Nationals to just one hit over five shutout innings last week. It was the best-case scenario for the 28-year-old southpaw, who filled in for the injured Max Scherzer in Toronto’s rotation. He’ll have a much bigger test against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Monday in a more hitter-friendly venue. Boston is slashing .316/.411/.421 against southpaws this season.
Boston: RHP Richard Fitts (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 6.00 K/9)
After making four late starts for the Red Sox last season, Fitts broke camp with the team due to a few injuries in the starting rotation. He turned in a decent outing in his first start against Texas, holding the Rangers to three runs on six hits over six innings while striking out four. Toronto touched him up for four runs on six hits over five innings in a start he made last season when the two faced off.
Notable injuries
Boston’s pitching staff is a little beat up, with Kutter Crawford (knee), Liam Hendriks (elbow), Lucas Giolito (hamstring), and Brayan Bello (shoulder) all on the shelf. Designated hitter Masataka Yoshida (shoulder) also opened the season on the injured list.
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. Outfielder George Springer is also nursing a back issue and is questionable to play Monday.
Weather
Weather is going to play a huge factor in this game, as forecasts are projecting frigid temperatures around 3 C with light showers throughout the evening. Winds will be light at around 11 km/h out of the northeast. Rain is expected throughout the day in Boston leading up to the first pitch, so field conditions will be far from ideal. Rainy and very cold conditions could make this a miserable game for the players and make betting outcomes very unpredictable.
Blue Jays vs. Red Sox betting trends
- The Red Sox have won five straight games after opening the season 1-4.
- The under is 7-0 in Toronto’s last seven games.
- The under is 5-1 in the past six meetings between these teams.
Blue Jays vs. Red Sox player prop trends
- After a dreadful start to the season, Rafael Devers has slashed .455/.586/.727 with seven RBIs over the last seven days. He’ll take a five-game hitting streak into action Monday and is -175 to extend that streak to six games.
- Wilyer Abreu has also been hot for the Red Sox, hitting .483 with three homers and 12 RBIs through the first 10 games. He has at least one hit in eight of those 10 games, with four multi-hit performances in that span. He’s -140 to get a hit on Monday.
Blue Jays vs. Red Sox predictions
- I would pass on wagering on this game due to the possibility of rain delays/postponement and the lack of data on these inexperienced starting pitchers, but if I had to make a play, I’d question why the streaking Red Sox aren’t bigger favourites than -130 in this spot against Toronto’s cold bats. Oddsmakers are giving Toronto a lot of respect in this instance, and they’re certainly leaning on the fatigue factor after Boston played twice on Sunday. Stay away from this one and wager on another MLB game with more favourable weather conditions and better data sets on Monday.