The Toronto Blue Jays (84-65) and Tampa Bay Rays (92-58) meet Monday at 7:10 p.m. ET to open a three-game series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Let’s analyze the lines around the Blue Jays vs. Rays odds with MLB picks and predictions.
LHP Robbie Ray is the projected starting pitcher for the Blue Jays. He is 12-5 with a 2.64 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 11.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 over 177 1/3 IP through 29 starts.
- Faced the Rays on Wednesday and allowed 1 run on 4 hits across 7 IP. Did not walk a batter while fanning 13.
- Current Tampa Bay batters own an aggregate .573 OPS against him.
- Has posted a 14.9 K/9 alongside a 1.80 ERA over his last six starts, and allowed more than 2 ER just twice in the second half of the season.
RHP Shane Baz is the projected starting pitcher for the Rays. Baz is a 22-year-old making his Major League debut.
- Originally tabbed for a Friday start before being scratched due to back spasms.
- Considered to be Tampa Bay’s top pitching prospect. Notched a 1.76 ERA and 0.85 WHIP with 64K and 11 BB over 46 innings at Triple-A after opening the season at the Double-A level.
Blue Jays at Rays odds, lines, picks and prediction
MLB odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 11:28 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Blue Jays -130 (bet $130 to win $100) | Rays +105 (bet $100 to win $105)
- Against the spread/ATS: Blue Jays -1.5 (+125) | Rays +1.5 (-155)
- Over/Under: 7.5 (O: -120 | U: -105)
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Prediction
Blue Jays 5, Rays 2
Money line (ML)
Surging Toronto took two of three games from the Minnesota Twins over the weekend and is a robust 15-3 in September. The Blue Jays enter this series one game behind the Boston Red Sox for the top Wild Card spot in the American League.
The Rays lost Saturday and Sunday home games to the Detriot Tigers and are just 8-10 through 18 games this month. The back-to-back losses at Tropicana stand as an outlier: Tampa Bay had gone 24-10 with a .798 OPS in its previous 34 games at home.
The Jays took two of three games from the Rays last week in Toronto, but for the season Tampa Bay holds a 9-7 edge through 16 meetings.
Toronto is the lean on the money line and is a solid, but not spectacular, play for run-line-averse players. Otherwise, PASS, and take a crack at the Jays winning by multiple runs.
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Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
Peg Tampa Bay as too far over its skis with its offensive production. The Rays also have a left lean which plays into a sizable platoon advantage for Ray who has held lefty bats to a .577 OPS this season. Ray has also been tough on this collection of hitters and is on an absolute roll in the second half.
TAKE TORONTO -1.5 (+125).
Over/Under (O/U)
Fading the Tampa offense and pegging the Blue Jays bullpen as being an improved unit (a trend being masked by a 25.5% home run/fly ball rate in September), the UNDER 7.5 (-105) has a slight lean.
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