MLB betting preview (June 3): Phillies vs. Blue Jays predictions

Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) celebrates his home run with first base Bryce Harper (3) during the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park.

Photo credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Jun 3, 2025, 14:11 EDT

After a day off Monday, the Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to extend their winning streak to six games when they open a three-game interleague series Tuesday with the Philadelphia Phillies at Rogers Centre.

Toronto completed a four-game sweep of the Athletics over the weekend, putting up a whopping 39 runs in the process.

Philadelphia has been trending in the opposite direction, coming in as losers of four straight after getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend.

Let’s take a look at the game odds for Tuesday’s series opener between the Phillies and Blue Jays courtesy of bet365.

Phillies vs. Blue Jays odds

Phillies moneyline odds	-150
Blue Jays moneyline odds	+125
Runline odds	Phillies -1.5 (+115), Blue Jays +1.5 (-135)
Game total	Over 8.5 runs (-120), Under 8.5 (+100)
Date/Time	June 3, 7:07 p.m. ET

About the Phillies (36-23 SU, 30-29 ATS, 26-32-1 o/u)

The Phillies have lost their hold on the top spot in the National League East standings to the New York Mets with their current four-game slide, but make no mistake, this is one of the best teams in baseball.

They’re an offensive juggernaut, averaging 4.76 runs per game (sixth in the majors), while also ranking in the top five in team batting average (.256, fifth), and on-base percentage (.333, fourth). They’re also terrorizing opponents on the basepaths, stealing 56 bags to this point, the fifth most in the majors.

From a pitching perspective, the Phillies rank around the middle of the pack in most statistical categories, but they do play elite defence, as evidenced by their MLB-best .989 fielding percentage.

About the Blue Jays (31-28 SU, 36-23 ATS, 29-29-1 o/u)

Four games with the Athletics was all the Blue Jays needed to finally break out offensively. After managing just six runs over a six-game road trip, they put up 39 runs over four games at home against the Athletics.

Addison Barger homered in three straight games over the weekend as Toronto belted 11 long balls over the course of the series. The Blue Jays have now hit 42 home runs in 32 games at Rogers Centre this year, which ranks third in baseball for any home venue.

Barger is slashing .350/.435/.850 with six RBIs over the last seven days to help power the lineup, which is getting contributions from everyone right now.

Probable starting pitchers

Philadelphia: LHP Cristopher Sanchez (4-1, 3.32 ERA, 10.56 K/9)

Sanchez has allowed three earned runs or fewer in all but one of his 11 starts this season. He’s also on a nice roll right now, recording a 3.18 ERA across five May starts. The southpaw was touched up for two runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings in his last start against Atlanta. Sanchez doesn’t throw hard, with his fastball topping out around 90 mph, but he does rank in the 91st percentile in offspeed pitch run value. He also excels at keeping the ball on the ground, as evidenced by his 54.4% ground-ball rate, which ranks in the 90th percentile amongst qualified pitchers.

Toronto: RHP Bowden Francis (2-6, 5.04 ERA, 7.48 K/9)

Francis has struggled mightily this season, but he was excellent in his last start, holding the Rangers to three hits over five scoreless innings. He threw only just 75 pitches in that start because manager John Schneider doesn’t trust him the third time through the lineup, when opposing batters are slashing a lofty .389/.463/.694 off him this season. His curveball, which he throws roughly 14% of the time, has been downright awful this season, with the opposition hitting .500 off the pitch for three home runs.

Notable injuries

Bryce Harper is considered day-to-day for the Phillies with an elbow injury and is questionable for this contest. Key starting pitchers Zack Wheeler (paternity) and Aaron Nola (ankle) also won’t pitch in this series for Philadelphia.

Pitchers Ryan Burr (shoulder), Nick Sandlin (lat), Yimi Garcia (shoulder), and Max Scherzer (thumb) are all on the injured list for the Blue Jays. Outfielder Anthony Santander (shoulder), outfielder Daulton Varsho (hamstring), and catcher Tyler Heineman (concussion) are also on the shelf. Toronto is expected to activate infielder Andres Gimenez (quad) from the IL ahead of Tuesday’s series opener.

Weather

Forecasts are calling for temperatures around 22 C and clear skies this evening in Toronto. Winds will blow out to centre field at 14 mph.

Phillies vs. Blue Jays betting trends

The Phillies are 7-3 SU in the past 10 meetings with Toronto.
The over is 4-0 in Toronto’s last four games.
The Blue Jays have the best record in the majors on the runline (36-23).
The Phillies are 17-11 SU and 16-12 on the runline on the road this season.

Phillies vs. Blue Jays player prop trends

Francis has recorded under 15.5 outs in six of his last seven starts and is -108 to come in under that mark again.
Sanchez has recorded five or more strikeouts in six straight starts and nine of his 11 appearances this season. He’s -148 to beat that mark against Toronto.
Jonatan Clase has hit safely in eight straight games and is -135 to extend that streak if he’s in the lineup Tuesday.
Ernie Clement has hit safely in six straight games and eight of his last 10. He’s -265 to record a hit.
As previously mentioned, Barger has homered in three consecutive contests. There aren’t any odds out yet on him to homer on Tuesday at time of publish.

Phillies vs. Blue Jays best bets

Kyle Schwarber over 0.5 home runs: +275 for a half unit (best odds at Sports Interaction). This is a juicy matchup for Schwarber against the homer-prone Francis, who has coughed up 15 long balls already this year. Left-handed hitters have feasted off Francis for 12 of those homers while posting a combined .962 OPS. Schwarber is fourth in the majors in home runs this season with 19, and the conditions will be favourable at Rogers Centre (roof should definitely be open) for power on Tuesday evening with warm temperatures and light winds blowing out. Oh, and Schwarber is 2-for-3 with a homer in his career against Francis, which also bolsters our case.
I’m also going to make a play on Schwarber over 1.5 hits + runs + RBIs for a full unit in this game at -109 odds (Caesars Sportsbook). He’s exceeded this mark in five straight games and 16 of his last 20, so we’re getting great value here at -109 odds. Schwarber, who ranks in the 99th percentile in hard-hit rate and the 93rd percentile in barrel rate this season, is slashing .348/.400/.652 with a home run, four RBIs, and three runs scored over the last seven days.