The Toronto Blue Jays visit the Tampa Bay Rays Friday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., for a 6:40 p.m. ET start. We analyze the Blue Jays-Rays MLB betting odds and lines, with betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Blue Jays at Rays: Projected starting pitchers
LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. RHP Charlie Morton
Ryu went 14-5 and led all of baseball with a 2.32 ERA across 29 starts and 182 2/3 innings pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019.
- Joins the American League after signing a four-year, $80 million deal with the Jays in free agency.
- Has fared better against right-handed hitters over his career while holding them to a .243/.287/.372 slash line over 2,278 plate appearances.
Morton went 16-6 with a 3.05 ERA and 1.084 WHIP across 33 starts and 194 2/3 innings last season.
- Finished third in AL Cy Young voting in his first season with the Rays.
- Went 8-3 with a 2.59 ERA and 0.958 WHIP over 17 starts at Tropicana Field.
- Was 0-1 with a 3.06 ERA in three starts against the Blue Jays.
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Blue Jays at Rays: Key injuries
Visit sportsdata.usatoday.com to track all MLB injuries leading up to game time.
Blue Jays
- OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (upper body) probable
- 3B Travis Shaw (groin) questionable
Rays
- 1B Jose Martinez (illness) probable
- OF Austin Meadows (illness) out
Blue Jays at Rays: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Thursday, at 11:35 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Blue Jays 4, Rays 3
Moneyline (ML)
Take the value with the BLUE JAYS at +145 in the season opener for the two AL East rivals. The Blue Jays’ addition of Ryu as the ace of the staff this offseason should pay instant rewards in the division-heavy 2020 schedule, as their opponents haven’t seen a whole lot of the former Dodgers star.
The Rays are also entering the season without their top hitter in Meadows, and Martinez will be behind early in the season after being sidelined by COVID-19 through the latter stage of summer camp.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Blue Jays to win would return a profit of $14.50.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
The safer but less rewarding play for the Blue Jays is to back TORONTO +1.5 (-154) to lose by no more than one run.
The Jays’ bullpen ranked 15th in baseball with a 4.35 ERA last season, but closer Ken Giles was one of the best late-inning relievers in MLB and Ryu should be able to get most of the way there with a 7- or 8-inning outing Friday.
Toronto went 9-10 against the run line against Tampa Bay in 2019 while going 6-13 straight up.
Over/Under (O/U)
While I’m predicting seven total runs to be scored, err on the low side and bet the UNDER 7 (-110) in a battle of aces on Opening Day.
Pitchers typically have the edge over hitters early in the MLB season and that will be even more emphasized in this delayed start. Expect a push as a worst-case scenario and your wager will be refunded.
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