Toronto Can Still Compete Despite Bad Record
Rays vs Blue Jays Betting Preview: More Consistency From Toronto

The Tampa Bay Rays will enter their road series against the Toronto Blue Jays with a 23-22 record. The Rays have been dominant over the last few seasons but began this year’s season a bit slow.
But they’re back over .500, and it’s only May 17. While they’ve got a lot of ground to make up in the AL East, the Wild Card is still in reach. The Rays are only two MLB games back from the final spot in the Wild Card.
Anyway, enough of playoff talk. Again, it’s only May. We’ve got a lot of baseball to play.
Despite the Tampa Bay Rays standings, the Blue Jays are listed as favorites in Game 1 of this three-game series. Toronto is currently -180 on the moneyline, with the total currently at 8.5. However, the Under is juiced to -115.
Check out our full Rays vs Blue Jays betting preview for this AL East weekend series.
Rays vs Blue Jays 
Day/Time:
Records: Rays (23-22)/Blue Jays (19-23)
Location: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON
Streaming: Apple TV+
Tampa Bay Made a Move
The Tampa Bay Rays announced they have acquired Derrick Edington from the Windy City Thunderbolts. Edington is a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher from Michigan who had been playing with the Thunderbolts, a professional baseball team in Illinois.
In 2023, Edington had a 1.64 ERA and five saves. In the blink of an eye, he now has a chance to live out his dream and pitch in some Tampa Bay Rays games this season.
Top Pick From 2023, Demoted
In 2023, the Blue Jays selected Arjun Nimmala as the 20th overall pick in the MLB Draft. However, he was just demoted from Single-A after a brutal start to the year. He’s now on the development list after hitting a .167 average with 43 strikeouts in 29 games.
Nimmala is still 18 years old and has a lot of potential. However, the Blue Jays might not see the MLB playoff bracket for some time.
Rays vs Blue Jays Preview & OddsFor Game 1:
RL: Blue Jays -1.5 (+125) (+150) ML: Blue Jays -180, O/U 8.5 -105/-115
âš¾ Game 1 âš¾
- Friday, 7:05 pm ET
- Tyler Alexander vs Chris Bassitt
Toronto will ride Tyler Alexander in Game 1 of the series. He’ll be the only lefty starter for the Rays in this series. Meanwhile, he’s allowed a .224 ISO and wOBA of .348 with only 31.5% of ground balls induced and just 19.1% of strikeouts.
Alexander has struggled way more against righties, allowing a .248 ISO and wOBA of .383 on the MLB season.
On the other hand, Toronto’s projected lineup has hit a .163 ISO and wOBA of .343 against lefties this season. While George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Bo Bichette have lacked power, the rest of the lineup, minus Isiah Kiner-Falefa, haven’t had issues hitting for power against lefties.
As a projected lineup, the team has also struck out only 14.5% of the time against righties this year.
Alexander will face off against Chris Bassitt of the Blue Jays. Bassitt will be one of three righties to start against the Rays over the weekend.
He’s been terrific against righties but has allowed a .243 ISO and wOBA of .429 to his first 89 lefties faced. Bassitt has struggled to earn strikeouts against lefties and has also walked 15.7% of them to begin the season.
Ultimately, Tampa Bay doesn’t have much power from lefties against righties. Josh Lowe is the only lefty the Rays can count on for consistent power.
That said, the Blue Jays have much more potential to win Game 1 of this series despite being one of the under .500 baseball teams. We wouldn’t even be afraid of backing the -1.5 (+125) on the run line.
âš¾ Game 2 âš¾
- Saturday, 3:07 pm ET
- Zach Eflin vs Kevin Gausman
It’ll be Zach Eflin in Game 2. He has a 3.91 ERA on the season but also sits at 3-4. Eflin has minized walks, but he’s given up a .231 ISO and wOBA of .362 to his first 125 righties.
As a right-handed pitcher, it’s MLB odds to see him struggling more against righties. But just like last season, Eflin has given up more extra-base hits to righties.
Unfortunately, the Blue Jays’ projected lineup has struggled to hit consistent power against righties throughout the season.
Still, Toronto will have a chance to win with Kevin Gausman on the mound. Gausman has a 4.95 ERA and hasn’t been as elite as previous seasons.
Yet, he’s still managed 43.5% of ground balls and has allowed just 25.2% of fly balls with only 6.1% of walks. If he can increase his strikeout rate, he’ll be much better down the line.
Give us the Blue Jays in Game 2 of this Rays vs Blue Jays betting preview.
âš¾ Game 3 âš¾
- Sunday, 1:37 pm ET
- Aaron Civale vs Alek Manoah
In the final game of the series, Aaron Civale will get the call. Civale was fantastic last season, but he’s allowed a .183 ISO and wOBA of .329 to his first 199 batters this year.
His ground ball rate is lower, and his line drive rate is higher. That’s ultimately why he’s holding a 5.83 ERA on the season.
That said, Civale has still struck out 24.6% of batters and limited walks to 6%, which is really good.
He’ll go up against Alek Manoah, who is a huge mystery. Manoah has thrown against 50 batters and has allowed a .321 ISO and wOBA of .443 to 31 lefties but has held righties to a .000 ISO and wOBA of .156.
Usually, the Rays will have more righties than lefties in the lineup against other righties.
Therefore, we’d trust Manoah to perform in this start and believe the Under would be the best bet in this game.
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