Jays vs Rays Betting Preview: Red-Hot Bassitt Tries to Stop the Bleeding for Visiting Toronto
Chris Bassitt Looks to Get Slumping Jays Back to Winning Ways

Tampa Bay Rays Return Home to Face Another American League East Rival
It wasn’t that long again that the Toronto Blue Jays were the closest competitor to the MLB-leading Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East Division. It is a different deal going into the four-game series.
When looking at the Jays vs Rays betting preview, Tampa Bay is favored despite some recent struggles.
Toronto took two of the three games the first time they met despite allowing four home runs.
Chris Bassitt hasn’t allowed a run in his last three starts, surrendering nine hits and striking out 20 over 23 innings. Brandon Lowe homered against him the last time he pitched against Tampa Bay.
Trevor Kelley allowed two hits and two runs in two innings of work in a 5-2 loss to Toronto on April 15. Whit Merrifield had an RBI double and scored on a hit by Danny Jansen.
Kelley is making his second start in his 37th career game. He has only pitched more than two innings once so keep that in mind heading into the series opener.
Tampa Bay ace Shane McClanahan is set to throw on Wednesday, so the Blue Jays would be well advised to take care of business early in this series.
Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco (+1600), Randy Arozarena (+3000), and Yandy Diaz (+6000) as well as Toronto’s Vlad Guerrero Jr. (+1200), Matt Chapman (+3000), and Bo Bichette (+4000) are among the AL Most Valuable Player candidates taking part in this series.
Tampa Bay (+700) is fourth and Toronto (+1400) tied for sixth in the odds to win the World Series.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Monday: Chris Bassitt (Toronto) vs Trevor Kelley (Tampa Bay)
Tuesday: Jose Berrios (Toronto) vs Taj Bradley (Tampa Bay)
Wednesday: Yusei Kikuchi (Toronto) vs Shane McClanahan (Tampa Bay)
Thursday: Alek Manoah (Toronto) vs Zach Eflin (Tampa Bay)
Bichette Looking to Feast
Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette was 7-for-13 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs when the teams played three times in April. The rest of the Blue Jays had a .195 batting average. The number drops to .162 when removing the performances of outfielder Whit Merrifield and catcher Alejandro Kirk.
The bullpen had an ERA of 7.71 while being swept by Baltimore. In addition, 13 of Toronto’s last 20 games finished over the MLB betting lines total. Keep that in mind when looking at the Jays vs Rays betting preview.
Rays Coming Back to Pack
The Rays were sitting at 27-6 after winning their opener against the New York Yankees on May 11. Since then, Tampa Bay is just 7-8 after allowing three home runs in a loss to Milwaukee on Sunday. Still, Tampa Bay is favored according to the Jays vs Rays betting preview with Tampa Bay priced at -160 to win the series.
Tampa Bay is just 3-6 in its last nine games decided by one run. MLB injuries to the pitching staff are starting to catch up to the Rays, with Shane Baz, Garrett Cleavinger, and Jeffrey Springs out for the season.
The good MLB news is that Yandy Diaz is back after missing a week of action. He is 4-for-9 with a double, home run, and three RBIs in the last two games.
Who’s Hot
- Chris Bassitt, Toronto Blue Jays P: Bassitt hasn’t allowed a run in his last three starts. He has allowed nine hits and 20 strikeouts over the last 23 innings.
- Jalen Beeks, Tampa Bay Rays P: Beeks has surrendered five hits and one run with 11 strikeouts in nine innings in his last five appearances.
- Josh Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays OF: Lowe is hitting .381 with four extra-base hits, three stolen bases, and six RBIs over the last five contests.
- George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays OF: Springer is hitting .360 with four runs, two stolen bases, a .448 on-base percentage, and three RBIs in the last six games.
Who’s Not
- Zach Eflin, Tampa Bay Rays P: Eflin has given up five home runs in his last three starts as he has a 5.21 ERA in those games despite striking out 21 and walking just two batters.
- Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays SS: Franco is 2-for-21 over the last six games. He does have four walks and two stolen bases during that stretch.
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays 1B: Guerrero is 2-for-17 with eight strikeouts over the last five games.
- Yusei Kikuchi, Toronto Blue Jays P: Kikuchi has allowed 12 hits, four home runs, and eight runs over 8.2 innings in his last two starts.
Blue Jays vs Rays Injury Update
Toronto relief pitcher Adam Cimber is expected back for the series while second baseman Santiago Espinal is questionable with a hamstring injury.
Relief pitchers Shawn Armstrong and Andrew Kittredge as well as starting pitchers Tyler Glasnow and Drew Rasmussen continue to be sidelined.
Blue Jays vs Rays Betting Analysis
One number that stands out is Tampa Bay’s 21-4 record at home this season. No team has made more of playing at home when it comes to navigating through the MLB schedule than the Rays.
Toronto won four games in a row in the series before Tampa Bay’s 8-1 win on Apr 16. Toronto won the last two games in St. Petersburg.
Just two of the last eight games in the series finished under the total.
When looking at the MLB betting lines, just 10 of Toronto’s 25 road games finished under the total, while 10 of Tampa Bay’s 24 home games ended under the total.
This could be a bullpen game for the Rays, currently in the middle of the pack with a 3.91 ERA, even with the seventh-best mark in walks and hits allowed per inning.
With the way that Bassitt has been pitching, going under the 8.5 total does make some sense. The total has gone under 12 of the last 17 games in the series at Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay covered in 15 of the first 24 games played at home and is 27-11 against right-handed starters. Still, this matchup is near Pick’em thanks in large part to the way Bassitt has been pitching.
Follow us on Twitter