Blue Jays vs Rays Prediction & MLB Odds For Saturday, September 21st
First pitch for Saturday’s Blue Jays vs. Rays matchup is set for 4:10 PM ET from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. BSSUN will be televising this one, and the Rays are the betting favorite, with their money line odds sitting at -137. The Blue Jays are +116 on the money line, and they will be starting Yariel Rodriguez. Toronto is 5th in the AL East, while the Rays are 3rd, and they have won two straight.
The over/under line is currently at 7.5 runs, and the under is paying out at -101 compared to -119 for the over. The Blue Jays are 73-81 this season, while the Rays have an overall record of 76-78.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Blue Jays 1.5 (-191) | Rays -1.5 (+157)
- Total: 7.5
- MoneyLine: Blue Jays +116 | Rays -137
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Blue Jays vs. Rays Prediction: Moneyline
Tampa Bay picked up a 1-0 win over the Blue Jays in the most recent game of this series. The Rays had just one more hit than the Blue Jays and struck out nine times, but still picked up the win. Heading into the game, they were at -101 on the money line.
The only run of the game came in the 6th inning when Jonathan Aranda homered for the Rays. Aranda finished the game 1/3 with a run scored and an RBI.
Tyler Alexander only went 4 1/3 innings for the Rays but didn’t give up a run and struck out six. He finished with a win in the game. Kevin Kelly came out of the bullpen for the win, and Hunter Bigge got the save.
Toronto is 73-81 overall and trails the Yankees by 17 games in the AL East. Currently, they are in 5th place in the division, three games behind the Red Sox for 4th place. The Blue Jays are 20-27 against other teams in the AL East.
At home, the Blue Jays are 38-37 this season, and they are just below .500 at 35-44 on the road. So far, they have gone 44-29 as the favorite but are only 29-52 as the underdog. Toronto’s overall series record is 17-26-5, and they are losing their current series vs. the Rays.
The Rays are 76-78 overall and trail the Yankees by 14 games in the AL East. Currently, they are in 3rd place in the division and have gone 22-25 against other AL East teams. The Rays have won two straight games, and they are both at home and overall this year, they are 40-39 at home.
As the underdog, the Rays have gone 41-47 this year and are 35-31 when favored. Tampa Bay’s overall series record is 23-19-6, and they are 5-5 in their last 10 games overall.
Blue Jays vs. Rays Prediction: Over/Under
The Blue Jays are on the road against the Rays today with the over/under line set at 7.5 runs. This season, their games have averaged 8.7 runs per game, and their over/under record is 78-72. When the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, their record is 18-17. So far this season, 74.0% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 7.5 runs, and they have gone under in their last three games.
So far this season, the Blue Jays offense has been one of the league’s best at avoiding strikeouts, and they are also among the league leaders in team on-base percentage. However, they are just 20th in runs per game at 4.2, and their team slugging percentage of .393 is also just 18th in the league. As a team, they are batting .242, which is 11th in the league.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been one of the league’s top power hitters this season, as his 30 home runs are 13th in the league, and his 99 RBIs are the 10th most in the MLB. He is also batting .322 for the season. George Springer is 2nd on the team with 19 homers, but he has a batting average of just .221. Over his last six games, Davis Schneider is batting .348 with three homers.
The Tampa Bay Rays are at home today against the Toronto Blue Jays, and the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs. The combined run average for Rays games this season is 7.9 runs per game, and their over/under record is 66-80. When the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, their record is 23-29. Overall, 56.5% of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 7.5 runs, and their current under streak is at three games.
So far this season, the Rays are averaging just 3.8 runs per game, which is 29th in the league. They have also been one of the worst home run hitting teams in the league, coming in 24th in the league. As a team, they are batting just .231, which is 18th in the league.
Yandy Diaz has been the Rays’ most consistent hitter this season, batting .283 with a team-leading 65 RBIs. He also has 14 home runs. Christopher Morel leads the team with 21 homers but is batting just .197. Over his last eight games, Brandon Lowe has gone 7/33 with two homers.
Blue Jays vs. Rays Prediction: Spread
The Blue Jays have been a solid run line bet on the road this season, going 49-30. They are 28-47 against the run line at home. Toronto’s average run margin is -0.3 runs per game, and they have an overall run line record of 77-77. They have been a better run line bet as the underdog, going 45-36, compared to 32-41 as the favorite. The Jays’ average run margin in winning games is +3.3, while it’s -3.6 in losses.
Right-hander Yariel Rodríguez gets the start for the Blue Jays today as he faces the Rays on the road. He has made 19 starts this season and has a record of 1-6 with an ERA of 4.29. Opponents are batting .222 off Rodríguez this season, and he has a WHIP of 1.30. Rodríguez has made 12 starts on the road, and his ERA in those outings is 8.4 compared to 3.71 at home. One of his two quality starts came on the road. In his last outing, he finished with a no-decision, giving up one earned run in 4 1/3 innings of work.
As underdogs, the Rays have been a solid run line bet this season, going 56-32. They are 24-42 against the run line as favorites. Overall, they are 80-74 against the run line, with an average run differential of -0.4 runs per game. They have been slightly better on the road, going 43-32 against the run line with a run differential of -0.5 runs per game.
Taj Bradley gets the start for the Rays today and will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Guardians. In that start, he took the loss, going 4 1/3 innings and giving up two earned runs. Looking back further, Bradley has lost three of his last four starts. His record for the season is 6-11, and he has an ERA of 4.39. Bradley’s WHIP for the season is 1.24. Opponents are batting .234 off Bradley this season. Out of his 23 starts, he has nine quality starts and is averaging 10.13 strikeouts per nine innings.
Blue Jays vs. Rays Pick: Rays ML -137
Our predicted final score for this one is 5-4 in favor of the Rays. With the money line sitting at -137, we see this as a good payout for a Rays win. As for the Blue Jays, their money line is at +116, but we have them losing this one.
Looking at some of the starting pitcher projections, both Yariel Rodríguez and Taj Bradley are projected to pick up a win, but Bradley is our higher-ranked pitcher. We have him finishing with six strikeouts compared to Rodriguez with five.
