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The Cleveland Guardians (60-68) and Toronto Blue Jays (70-58) open a 3-game set Friday at Rogers Centre. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Guardians vs. Blue Jays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Tied 2-2
The Guardians are coming off a 9-3 loss as +110 home underdogs vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday. Cleveland is 2nd in the AL Central, 6 games back of the division-leading Minnesota Twins.
The Blue Jays lost 5-3 as -109 favorites at the Baltimore Orioles Thursday. Toronto is 1½ games behind the Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros, who are tied for the 2nd AL Wild Card spot.
Guardians at Blue Jays projected starters
RHP Tanner Bibee vs. RHP Chris Bassitt
Bibee (9-3, 3.01 ERA) makes his 21st start. The rookie has a 1.21 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9 and 8.9 K/9 in 113 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K in 4-3 home loss vs. Detroit Tigers Saturday
- Tied for 1st among AL rookies in wins with Houston Astros RHPs Hunter Brown and J.P. France
- 2023 road stats: 4-1, 4.04 ERA (55 2/3 IP, 25 ER) in 10 starts
- Career vs. Blue Jays: 1-0, 1 start, 7 IP, 0 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 K in 1-0 home victory Aug. 8
Bassitt (12-6, 3.92 ERA) makes his 27th start. He has a 1.21 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9 and 8.5 K/9 in 151 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Win, 6 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K in 4-3 victory at Cincinnati Reds Saturday
- 2023 home stats: 6-2, 2.83 ERA (76 1/3 IP, 24 ER) in 12 starts
- Career vs. Guardians: 1-2, 3.30 ERA (30 IP, 11 ER), 25 H, 10 BB, 29 K in 5 starts — last faced Cleveland in 2021
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Guardians at Blue Jays odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:07 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Guardians +135 (bet $100 to win $135) | Blue Jays -160 (bet $160 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Guardians +1.5 (-155) | Blue Jays -1.5 (+125)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Guardians at Blue Jays picks and predictions
Prediction
Blue Jays 4, Guardians 3
Moneyline
The BLUE JAYS (-160) should bounce back after losing 2 straight games at Baltimore.
The Guardians are just 14-24 as road underdogs this season, according to TeamRankings.com, and have lost 6 of their last 8 overall.
Bibee had 1 of the best starts of his career last time out vs. Toronto, and Cleveland still only managed to win 1-0. It’s unlikely that the rookie will be able to replicate that type of performance Friday.
BET BLUE JAYS (-160).
Run line/Against the spread
The Guardians are 24-14 on the run line this season as road underdogs. Cleveland +1.5 (-155) will probably hit, but I prefer betting the Blue Jays to win straight up after back-to-back losses.
PASS. Bet the moneyline and/or the total instead.
Over/Under
The Under is 45-20-2 (69.2%) this season when Cleveland is coming off a loss.
The Under has also hit in the last 4 meetings between these teams and should cash again Friday as Cleveland’s offense (3.0 runs/game over last 9 contests) continues to struggle.
BET UNDER 8.5 (-115).
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