Favorites Shine on The Yankees vs Jays Odds For Game 2
Yankees Pitcher Carlos Rodon's Success Is Unsustainable
It’s been a terrific start to the season for the New York Yankees. They’re currently 12-5 on the year and in first place in the American League East.
However, the Yankees already lost to the Blue Jays in the first game of a three-game series. The offense was held to one run on four hits against Chris Bassitt and the Toronto bullpen. Now they’ll need to win back-to-back games against the Blue Jays on the road to win this three-game series.
We’ll touch on Game 2 of this series. It’ll be Carlos Rodon of the Yankees against Yusei Kikuchi of the Blue Jays. These two pitchers have something in common: They’re both left-handed hurlers. They both have ERAs of 2.30 or better heading into this game.
This is a matchup to get excited about.
Take a look at the Yankees vs Jays odds for Game 2 of this three-game series between these American League East rivals. Toronto is now slightly favorited -120 with the comeback on New York at even odds (+100). We’ve got plenty of baseball picks today.
Records: New York Yankees (12-5), Toronto Blue Jays (9-8)
Day/Time:
Location: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada
Stream: YES
New York’s Two-Game Losing Streak
The Yankees hadn’t lost two games in a row until last night’s loss to the Blue Jays. The offense was silent against Chris Bassitt of the Blue Jays yesterday as Bassitt pitched into the 7th inning against the Yankees.
This was only the second time this year that a starter went into the 7th inning against the Yankees.
It also didn’t help that New York’s starter, Luis Gil, gave up seven walks, two of which led to the three runs he gave up in the 3-1 loss.
The Yankees will have better nights ahead, so it’s not time to be concerned. They still lead the AL East in the MLB standings. But a two-game losing streak isn’t ideal.
Alek Manoah Still Struggling In The Minors
The Blue Jays have a solid starting rotation. However, the expectation was that Alek Manoah would play a role in that rotation.
He had been incredible as a rookie and even earned an Opening Day start last season for Toronto. However, Manoah has struggled on the mound over the previous year due to injuries and mental issues.
He’s trying to return. However, in Triple-A, he allowed four runs in 3.1 innings in Buffalo. That’s not what aces do.
Therefore, it’s unclear at this point whether the Blue Jays will give Manoah a chance at the big league level.
Yankees vs Jays Odds For Game 2: RL: Yankees -1.5 (+149) ML: Yankees -111, O/U 8.5 -110/-110.
Game 2
Tuesday, 7:07 pm ET
Carlos Rodon vs Yusei Kikuchi
While Carlos Rodon has a 1.72 ERA, the analytics aren’t so positive for the left-handed thrower on the Yankees.
Rodon has only struck out 18.8% of batters to start the season. He’s also allowed a .177 ISO and wOBA of .339 to his first 69 batters. Most of the damage is coming from righties against the lefty. Against righties, Rodon has given up a .196 ISO and wOBA of .353 with only 32.4% of ground balls.
The Yankees lefty has also allowed 51.4% of hard to lefties and over 24% of line drive to righties. While he’s earned 23.3% of whiffs, that’s nothing like his numbers from a couple of years ago when he was with the Giants.
Meanwhile, he struggled even more last season, coming off an injury. Rodon allowed a .237 ISO and wOBA of.363 with only 27.5% of ground balls induced. So, while there’s an improvement, don’t expect Rodon to hold on to his incredible ERA of 1.72.
He’s in line to face a Toronto lineup that will likely have seven or eight righties. Righties like George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero, Bo Bichette, Justin Turner, Davis Schneider, and Danny Jansen have a lot of potential for the Blue Jays against Rodon. That’s why the Yankees vs Jays odds are up to 8.5 as the total.
Kikuchi Can Sustain His Success More
While Rodon’s stats aren’t that impressive, Yusei Kikuchi’s are. The Toronto lefty has held MLB teams to a .052 ISO and wOBA of .271 with 57.9% of ground balls. Kikuchi has also allowed 15.8% of fly balls and 15.8% of line drives this year.
On top of that, Kikuchi has added 30.8% of strikeouts, adding 32.7% of strikeouts against righties, despite being a left-handed pitcher.
Kikuchi didn’t put up these types of stats last year. Last year, he gave up a .168 ISO and wOBA of .325 but still added 25.5% of strikeouts and only walked 6.9% of batters.
If Kikuchi keeps the ground balls coming and continues to limit line drives, he’ll become the ace of the Blue Jays’ staff. After all, he’s got a 2.30 ERA to start the season, which has been very impressive.
That said, the Yankees still have batters who hit lefties well. Anthony Volpe, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gleybar Torres are three righties to watch out for against Kikuchi. Meanwhile, Juan Soto has good numbers against lefties despite being a left-handed batter. He’s hit a .185 ISO and wOBA of .370 with only 22.3% strikeouts against lefties since last season.
But while both teams have quality bats that can do damage, Kikuchi’s analytics shine much brighter than Rodon’s numbers this season. Therefore, we’ll back the Blue Jays as the slight favorites with today’s MLB odds.
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