The Toronto Blue Jays (3-1) continue their early-season road swing with Game 2 of their series against the Texas Rangers (1-3) at Globe Life Field Tuesday. First pitch will be thrown at 8:05 p.m. ET following Toronto’s 6-2 win Monday. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook‘s lines around the Blue Jays vs. Rangers odds with MLB picks and predictions.
RHP Tanner Roark gets the ball for the Jays for his first start of the season. He went 2-3 last season with a 6.80 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 7.7 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 while surrendering 2.6 homers per nine innings. He has pitched to a 4.65 ERA across 102 starts and three relief appearances with four teams over the past four seasons.
RHP Dane Dunning makes his Rangers debut after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox in the offseason. His rookie status remains intact after pitching to a 3.97 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with a 9.3 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 34 innings spanning seven starts in 2020.
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Blue Jays at Rangers odds, lines, picks and prediction
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 12:46 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Blue Jays -130 (bet $130 to win $100) | Rangers +105 (bet $100 to win $105)
- Against the spread/ATS: Blue Jays -1.5 (+120) | Rangers +1.5 (-145)
- Over/Under: 9.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Prediction
Rangers 8, Blue Jays 6
Money line (ML)
The RANGERS (+105) are a strong pick as short underdogs at home.
Roark’s command and ability to keep the baseball in the park have worsened year-over-year after a strong start to his career with the Washington Nationals. He was hurt by a 20.3% home run to fly ball rate last year, but he stranded just 70.3% of batters and induced a ground ball on just 35.9% of balls in play.
The Blue Jays have yet to see Dunning in his young career, but big things are expected for the Rangers’ No. 3 prospect. Toronto has also struggled against righty pitching early on with a .661 team OPS and 84 wRC+ that are both well below the average thresholds of .750 and 100, respectively.
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Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
There’s enough value in backing the RANGERS +1.5 (-145) with the run of insurance in the event of a loss.
While I’m chalking up the starting pitching advantage to Texas, Toronto has a much greater edge in the bullpen battle. Toronto relievers have combined for a 2.12 ERA through 17 innings, while the Texas ‘pen has a combined 9.00 ERA through 19 innings of work.
It may not be a bad idea to back the RANGERS (+105) on the 5-inning money line as further insurance.
Over/Under (O/U)
Back the OVER 9.5 (-115) as the strongest play in Blue Jays-Rangers.
Roark gave up 3 or more earned runs in seven of his 11 starts last season, and he never went deeper than 5 innings. On the other side, Dunning shouldn’t be expected to go deeper than 5 innings in his Rangers debut and the Texas bullpen is ripe for the picking.
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