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The Toronto Blue Jays (67-55) and Cincinnati Reds (63-59) meet Friday to kick off a 3-game series. First pitch from Great American Ball Park is set for 6:40 p.m. ET (Apple TV+). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Blue Jays vs. Reds odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting of 2023; Toronto won the 2022 series 2-1
Cincinnati won 7-2 as a -169 home favorite Wednesday vs. the Cleveland Guardians to earn a series split. 2B Matt McLain tallied 3 hits in 5 at-bats with 1 HR and 3 RBIs. The Reds are 4-6 in their last 10 games, 30-32 at home and tied for the final NL Wild Card spot.
The Blue Jays lost 9-4 as -135 home favorites Wednesday vs. the Philadelphia Phillies as they failed to sweep the 2-game set. That loss ended a 2-game win streak for Toronto, who is now 5-5 in its last 10. The Blue Jays are 35-28 on the road and hold the final AL Wild Card berth.
Blue Jays at Reds projected starters
RHP Jose Berrios vs. RHP Brett Kennedy
Berrios (9-8, 3.53 ERA) makes his 25th start. He has a 1.22 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9 and 8.5 K/9 through 140 1/3 IP.
- Last outing: Loss, 4 1/3 IP, 6 R (4 ER), 9 H, 0 BB, 3 K in 6-2 home loss last Friday vs. Chicago Cubs
- Career vs. Cincinnati: 0-2, 9.00 ERA (8 IP, 8 ER), 10 H, 5 BB, 7 K through 2 starts
Kennedy (1-0) is expected to make his 2nd start and 3rd appearance. He has allowed 4 ER on 6 H and 2 BB through 7 IP.
- Last start: Win, 5 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K in 8-4 road win vs. Washington Nationals on July 4
- Returned to majors in 2023 for first time since 2018
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Blue Jays at Reds odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:53 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Blue Jays -160 (bet $160 to win $100) | Reds +135 (bet $100 to win $135)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Blue Jays -1.5 (-105) | Reds +1.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 10.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Blue Jays at Reds picks and predictions
Prediction
Blue Jays 3, Reds 2
Moneyline
LEAN BLUE JAYS (-160).
The Blue Jays took 2 of 3 meetings from the Rays last season and are the slightly hotter team at 5-5 in their last 10 compared to the Reds’ 4-6. Toronto is also a very good road team, sitting at 7 games above .500 on the road while the Reds are 2 games below .500 at home.
Run line/Against the spread
LEAN REDS +1.5 (-115).
These teams are pretty evenly matched so seeing the Blue Jays as such heavy favorites surprised me. I expect the Reds to give the Blue Jays some problems, especially with their home crowd behind them in the series opener. Two of last season’s meetings ended with a 1-run margin and we should expect the same here.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 10.5 (-115).
The Under cashed in all 3 meetings between these squads last season. The Under is also 8-2 in Cincinnati’s last 10 games, is 6-4 in Toronto’s last 10 contests and is 4-0-1 in Jose Berrios’ last 5 starts.
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