The Blue Jays are seemingly near rock bottom as they have lost three straight games and are ten games below .500. The main questions surrounding the team now simply revolve around who and when we will see some significant trades ahead of the deadline.

Toronto was bested by a fantastic Luis Castillo performance in the opener, as the Mariners scraped out yet another win while scoring three runs or less while Kevin Gausman’s strong showing went to waste.

Saturday’s starting pitching matchup is far less convincing as Yariel Rodriguez (4.63 ERA, 23 and 1/3 IP) will take on Emerson Hancock (4.79 ERA, 41 and 1/3 IP).

Let’s dive into the game odds for Saturday’s matchup between the Blue Jays and Mariners:

It really feels like these two sides are having polar opposite seasons entering this series, and Friday’s opening matchup was an excellent case in point. The Mariners seem to do all the little things right in the key moments and have found a way to achieve a 49-41 record despite scoring just 3.80 runs per game this season and holding a 30th-ranked .217 batting average as a team.

The Blue Jays have slugged just .387 with RISP in scoring position, which is one of the only meaningful offensive statistics in which the Mariners have been better, though they still own just a .390 slug rate with RISP.

The Blue Jays hold a 29th-ranked bullpen ERA of 4.79, while the Mariners rank 13th with a 3.73 ERA.

Over the last 30 days the Blue Jays own an offensive wRC+ of 99 with a .375 slug-rate. Not great, but both are still better than what the Mariners have achieved.

Yariel Rodriguez was excellent last time out versus the Astros and could continue to find solid results with a five-pitch mix which rates out near the league average. Rodriguez holds a Stuff+ rating of 97, with a Location+ rating of 99 this season.

Seattle has earned its 49-41 record in large due to its tremendous starting pitching staff, which has combined for a third-best 3.43 ERA this season. As a result, on days when it is starting a pitcher like Emerson Hancock it suddenly becomes a very gettable side.

Hancock has pitched to a 6.09 xERA this season and allowed a WHIP of 1.28. He holds an xFIP of 5.16 this season, which runs in line with his career mark of 5.14. His arsenal rates out comparably to the rest of his career too, as he owns a Stuff+ rating of just 83 and a Location+ rating of 103.

In 38 and 1/3 innings in Triple-A this season Hancock has pitched to an xFIP of 5.40.

Over the last 30 days, the Mariners have hit to a wRC+ of 92, and a wOBA of .292. They have struck out 29.8% of the time in that span, which is the worst mark in baseball.

The Blue Jays have essentially hit rock bottom, and we are now at the point where perhaps some members of the team are checking out to some extent, which is definitely a scary thought as a bettor. Still, it’s best to always count on proud professionals to show up and try as hard as possible to win games.

The Mariners aren’t an overly formidable side in any matchup where they aren’t trotting out an elite starter due to how middling their offensive play has really been this season.

With those thoughts in mind, I think the Blue Jays are the right bet in this matchup, and I’m not surprised to see the sharper money moving this line towards Toronto. Rodriguez still looks to be a better pitcher than Hancock by some margin, and as ugly as the Blue Jays’ offensive numbers are, they still rank above the Mariners in many key statistics, including runs scored per game.

The Blue Jays hold some value to win the full game at -110, but I would rather isolate the Rodriguez versus Hancock innings and avoid sweating out anything involving Toronto’s bullpen right now. My favourite bet from this game lies in backing the Blue Jays to win the first five innings at anything better than -120.