The Tampa Bay Rays get set to clash against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first of a three-game set starting Tuesday night inside Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario. They toss out the first pitch at 7:07 pm. Both teams are looking to make a run in the second half of the season but are facing two of the best teams in baseball in their division.
The Rays have shown signs of life but are less complete a team than last season. Their pitching has not been as solid as it has needed to be this season. They still have some veteran arms on the roster who should be able to give them a bolt occasionally.
On offense, they are led by third baseman Isaac Paredes, who has slugged 16 home runs. He smashed 31 last season and is on pace to break that. The Rays have only hit 95 home runs as a team and are batting just .236 on the season. They have some good hitters who just need to be more patient at the plate.
Tampa has yet to name a starter as of late Monday night.
Despite being on a handful of games under .500 on the season, Toronto is buried in last place in the AL East as they trail the Baltimore Orioles by a whopping 15 games. Baltimore has overtaken the New York Yankees, who are trying to return to their winning ways.
As for Toronto, the Blue Jays would love to do some damage to the Rays, hurt their record, and help push them further back behind those two teams. For that to happen, the Blue Jays need to hit better and be more consistent at the plate. Their hitters have shown a lack of patience, which is contributing to more strikeouts per game.
On offense, they are led by first baseman Vladmir Guerrero Jr., who hit 16 home runs while collecting 59 RBI. He is hitting a very solid .292 on the season, and he needs the heart of the lineup around him to pick it up, too.
They will send Jose Berrios, who has a mark of 8-7 on the hill, to go along with an ERA of 4.01. He has fanned 87 in 119 innings of work.
The Blue Jays are 2-3 in their last five games and 1-4 in their previous five games against the spread. They are also 29-22 in their road games against the spread. The totals have gone over in five out of their last five games, and the totals have gone over in 26 out of their last 48 games at home. The Rays are 3-2 in their previous five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the spread too. They are a solid 24-21 in their road games against the spread, and the totals have gone over in two out of their last five games. The totals have also gone over in 26 out of their last 54 games at home.
