Red Sox vs Blue Jays Betting Odds: Toronto Welcomes Slumping Red Sox

Paxton, Berrios Look to Continue Strong in Series Opener

Red Sox vs Blue Jays Betting Odds: Toronto Welcomes a Slumping Red Sox Team to Town
VAUGHN RIDLEY / GETTY IMAGES

The Boston Red Sox Have Taken the Last Four Games Against AL East Rival Toronto

The Boston Red Sox were just swept at home by Miami and now face American League East rival Toronto with the Red Sox vs Blue Jays betting odds favoring the host Blue Jays.

Boston found a unique way to lose as pitcher Brayan Bello took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before allowing hits to his final two batters. One of them came in and scored as the Red Sox lost 2-0. Toronto used a two-run home run by Vlad Guerrero to top the San Francisco Giants.

When looking at the 2023 MLB standings, Boston is just 19-21 on the road with Toronto posting a 23-15 record at home.

Toronto (+2000) is seventh in the odds to win the World Series with the Red Sox well back at +10000.

A quick peek at the baseball standings shows Toronto holding down the final playoff spot in the American League. Boston is five games out of playoff position and is the only AL East team with a losing record.

Blue Jays logo

Day/Time:
Location: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ONT
Streaming: NESN, SportsNet (Sunday’s game is also on MLB Network)

Probable Pitchers

  • Friday: James Paxton (Red Sox); Jose Berrios (Blue Jays)
  • Saturday: Kutter Crawford (Red Sox); Yusei Kikuchi (Blue Jays)
  • Sunday: Garrett Whitlock (Red Sox); Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays)

Looking for Some Offense

The numbers were not pretty for the Red Sox as they were swept at home by Miami. Boston batters were 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the three games. Keep that in mind when looking at the Red Sox vs Blue Jays betting odds.

The three runs came on an Alex Verdugo RBI double, a home run by Rafael Devers, and a single by Jarren Duran to score Devers. Devers led the Red Sox with four hits in the series.

The issue is that the pitching hasn’t been strong enough to overcome the offensive shortcomings.

Paxton has been the most effective of the three Boston starting pitchers expected to throw in the series with a 2.31 ERA in the month of June. Crawford and Whitlock are 3-3 with a 4.97 ERA in the month.

Home, Sweet Home

Toronto has enjoyed life at Rogers Centre with a 9-4 record in the month of June. One of the wins came against a Houston and took two straight against a red-hot San Francisco team.

The Blue Jays are hitting .263 at home this season with outfielder George Springer leading the way with a .296 average, 20 runs, and six home runs. Shortstop Bo Bichette is batting .292 with seven home runs while Whit Merrifield has 11 stolen bases at home.

Toronto has a 3.30 ERA at Rogers Centre. Berrios, Kikuchi, and Gausman have ERAs between 2.41-3.13. It is no wonder that the Blue Jays are favored according to the Red Sox vs Blue Jays betting odds.

Who’s Hot

  • Vlad Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays 1B: Guerrero is 9-for-22 with three doubles, three home runs, and nine RBIs over his last six games.
  • Yusei Kikuchi, Toronto Blue Jays P: Kikuchi has allowed four hits and one run with 14 strikeouts in 13 innings of his last two starts.
  • Chris Martin, Boston Red Sox P: Martin has allowed five hits and no runs with seven strikeouts in seven innings in his last seven appearances.
  • Alex Verdugo, Boston Red Sox OF: Verdugo is 17-for-30 with seven doubles, two triples, eight runs scored, and eight driven in over the last 10 games

Who’s Not

  • Carlos Arroyo, Boston Red Sox IF: Arroyo is 1-for-16 with six strikeouts in his last five games.
  • Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays C: Kirk is 0-for-11 in his last five games and has no extra-base hits over the last 10 contests.
  • Jordan Romano, Toronto Blue Jays P: Romano has surrendered eight hits and three runs in 6.2 innings.
  • Garrett Whitlock, Boston Red Sox P: Whitlock has given up 19 hits, three home runs, and 10 runs in 11.2 innings in his last two starts.

Red Sox vs Blue Jays Injury Update

Paxton left his last start as a result of a knee issue, but he is expected to start for the Red Sox in Friday’s series opener. Boston is hoping to get pitchers Joely Rodriguez and John Schreiber back in early July.

For Toronto, outfielder Kevin Kiermaier is questionable with back spasms. Pitchers Chad Green, Zach Pop, and Hyun Jin Ryu could return at some point in July.

Red Sox vs Blue Jays Betting Preview

  • Toronto needs two stolen bases to become the 10th team to post at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the month of June. Boston is already there with 21 home runs and 20 stolen bases so the catchers could be busy in this series.
  • Boston is 12-15 in June despite ranking sixth in the American League in earned run average in June. Toronto’s pitching staff has recorded the third most strikeouts in the majors in June.
  • Boston has won the last four games against Toronto. The Blue Jays had won the previous nine matchups and 12 of the previous 13.
  • Each of the last eight matchups between Boston and Toronto finished over the total as have the last five games played in Toronto.
  • Toronto is 31-25 when listed as the favorite with Boston 21-24 as the underdog.
  • The Red Sox have covered 22 of their 40 road games with Toronto just 16-22 against the spread at home.