Toronto Blue Jays at Oakland Athletics Series Preview and Odds

Blue Jays Must Keep Positive Momentum Going

The 2024 season was viewed as a make-or-break season for the Toronto Blue Jays and, so far, the results are mixed. After being swept out of the Wild Card round in the playoffs three of the past four seasons, Toronto — under manager John Schneider — really needed to not only make the playoffs against but actually do some damage in October.

Right now, at two games under .500, they’ve got some work to do but are coming off a pair of big wins against the Orioles and have a chance to stay hot as they visit the Oakland Athletics. As this Blue Jays vs Athletics preview notes, Toronto is a solid -165 moneyline favorite and is +105 on the runline at 1.5 runs. The total is eight runs.

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The Blue Jays have won seven of 10 and were able to salvage a series with Baltimore this week in which they lost the first two games. On paper, Toronto has a very talented team but it has been a very up-and-down, largely due to an inconsistent lineup and very shaky bullpen. They just can’t seem to put together sustained stretches of success and it doesn’t help that they play in the deep AL East where the MLB baseball scores everyday seem to feature Yankees and Orioles wins.

The last month or so has been very tough for the Athletics who were 17-17 on May 4th and have gone 8-22 since. They dropped three of four to the Mariners this week and have only won two of their last eight games. Oakland’s big problem as of late has been offense as the Athletics have scored more than three runs only twice in the past two weeks. This team has trouble generating runs that don’t come from longballs.

Blue Jays logo Toronto Blue Jays vs Oakland Athletics Athletics logo

Day/Time:
Location: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California

Toronto’s Offense Continues to Underwhelm

It feels crazy that a lineup highlighted by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, George Springer and Justin Turner is 24th in the Majors in runs scored but that’s just how this season has gone for the Blue Jays, whose offense comes and goes in waves without much semblance of consistency.

Any Blue Jays vs Athletics preview has to discuss that of that bunch, only Guerrero Jr. has a OPS+ over 100 (136). Guys like Daulton Varsho, Danny Jansen and Davis Schneider have contributed but Toronto will only go as far as its stars will allow.

You have to think that, at some point this year, the Blue Jays’ big bats will wake up for Toronto to get back into the MLB playoff picture but it’s already early June and Bichette Jr. and Springer still have OPSs in the low .600s. That will not cut it, especially for a team that isn’t fast, doesn’t hit a lot of home runs and has withstood a bullpen that continues to blow winnable games.

Toronto will have rotation mainstays Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman go on Friday and Saturday before the young Bowden Francis starts on Sunday. Neither Bassitt nor Gausman has been particularly great this season but they’re reliable veterans with long track records of success. They should be able to give Toronto good starts against an Oakland lineup that is 27th in runs scored and has the third-worst average and on-base percentage in the Majors.

A’s Starters Are Inexperienced

The Oakland rotation has been a M.A.S.H. unit between injuries to most of the top guys and ineffectiveness by their replacements. This Blue Jays vs Athletics preview notes that the Athletics’ rotation has been one of the worst in baseball and won’t have its best available starter (J.P. Sears) lined up this weekend. Instead, youngsters Hogan Harris, Luis Medina and Mitch Spence will take the mound for Oakland with a combined six starts of experience this season behind them.

Harris has been passable in a few starts but he may not provide the A’s with much length. While Oakland’s bullpen has been a bright spot — 5th-best ERA in MLB — a lot of that success is from closer Mason Miller, setup man Austin Adams, Michael Kelly (recently suspended for a year for betting on baseball), and the injured Lucas Erceg. So, Kotsay could have to mix and match to get through the series opener. The state of the Oakland Athletics rotation doesn’t give him many options.

Take Toronto On The Runline

Look for the Blue Jays to win big. There isn’t much value in taking them at -165 straight-up as moneyline favorites but at +105 on the runline, they’re a good pick. There has been a lot of late line movement on this game in Toronto’s favor as well, showing just how much Vegas and the public are liking the Blue Jays.

With Oakland’s rough rotation and Toronto feeling good after a nice close to the Baltimore series, also consider the over eight runs at even-money.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.


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