The Rays couldn’t hold their lead against Texas, as the Friday free play went down late. Today’s comp is the big game between the two AL East leaders.
YANKEES (Tanaka) @ BLUE JAYS (Estrada)
Take: BLUE JAYS -120
Hey, the Blue Jays are human after all. They coughed a late lead against the Yankees on Friday night and in the process fell back to second place in what is now a sizzling divisional race. I like Toronto to get right back on track today.
Marco Estrada hasn’t gotten much attention for the Jays. That kind of figures as this team is all about putting up big offensive numbers and the pitchers are very much a secondary attraction. But Estrada has been a very pleasant surprise for Toronto this season, and the key to his success has been a dramatically reduced home run rate. That has long been the big issue for Estrada, but he’s proven that he can be an asset by keeping this ball in the park this year.
Meanwhile, it’s Masahiro Tanaka who is suffering from an alarming case of gopher ball fever. Tanaka is serving them up at an insane rate lately. 16 homers in the last 11 starts for Tanaka, and 14 in the last nine alone. That is simply not good news at all against a team with this much thunder.
The Blue Jays were quieted down on Friday night, but I doubt that this can be looked at as little more than a blip. This Toronto lineup is downright frightening. Match them up against a guy who is having trouble avoiding gopher balls and the recipe for another Toronto outburst is more than a reasonable projection.
That was a desperately needed win for the Yankees on Friday night and it would be huge if they could grab another victory here and clinch a series win in the process. But with Tanaka’s currently shaky form, especially when it comes to the taters, I have to favor the home team here. The price is clearly not unreasonable with the Jays currently just a 6/5 chalk piece. I’d look to lay that number with Toronto.
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My 2* NFL Total Best Bet for Saturday is up.
NFL Season Access discounted package available. Price will never be this low again.