Major league baseball on Saturday afternoon and we will see the Houston Astros travel to the Rogers Centre to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Free Pick to follow. First pitch is scheduled for a 1:05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised on the locally.

Betting Odds

Houston                  +141
Toronto                    -151

Over/ Under: 9 U -115

This is game 2 of a 3 game series between these American League foes.  The Astros have been the surprise of the season so far , but they did lose last night to the Jays, which was their 2nd loss in a row. Still they have a solid lead in the AL West. The Blue Jays have won 3 games in a row now, but are still; 4.5 games behind the Yanks in the AL East. 

The Astros rank 13th in scoring (4.23 rpg), 29th in hitting (.235) and 1st in homers (76), while on the mound they are 7th in ERA (3.55) and 1st in WHIP (1.14). The Astros are 18-5 in their last 23 games as an underdog and 20-6 in their last 26 games vs. a right-handed starter, but just 31-72 in their last 103 road games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.

Toronto ranks 1st in scoring (5.16 rpg), 7th in hitting (.264) and 4th in homers (66), while on the mound they are 27th in ERA (4.35) and 18th in WHIP (1.30). The Blue Jays have gone 10-4 in their last 14 games as a home favorite and 10-4 in their last 14 games vs. a left-handed starter, but just 1-5 in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.

Getting the ball for the Astros today will be Brett Oberholtzer, who has made just 2 starts this year and he is 0-0 with a 3.24 ERA in those starts. Last year Brett was 5-13 with a 4.39 ERA and he has gone 1-1 with a 3.26 ERA in 2 career starts vs the Blue Jays. 

Taking the hill for Toronto today will be Drew Hutchison, who has gone 4-1 on the year, but with a high 5.26 ERA overall, while at home he is 3-1 with a 2.97 ERA. Drew is 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in 2 career starts vs the Astros. 

Pick: I will be going with the Jays in this one. Houston will not keep the pace up that they have been playing at and it's starting to show as they are just 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Jays are heading the other way as they have won 6 of their last 7 at home and their last 3 overall. Hutchison gets the nod over Olberholzer here as does the Jays offense over that of Houston's. Let's also note that the home team has won the last 8 in the series. I look for the Jays to continue to win, while the Astros take another step back.  

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MLB Pitching Stats: DBF, Difficulty of Batters Faced
Pro handicappers Teddy Covers and Steve Fezzik talk about the difference between lazy stats and legit stats, telling you what you need to know about DBF or Difficulty of Batters Faced. This stat is a favorite among sabremetrics followers, who prefer this over stats looking at how a pitcher does versus a team when the team's rotation is constantly changing. Teddy sees the value in DBF, while Fezzik thinks some of the worst DBF performers like AJ Burnett are actually some of the best pitchers in baseball.