The Oakland Athletics were brought down to earth a bit on Friday, losing 4-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays, but they'll get another crack at Toronto this afternoon at Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays are 5-3 on the season and in first place in the AL East, a game above the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees. Can Toronto handle Oakland for a second straight day, or will the overachieving A’s pull off the upset?
Find out with our free MLB betting picks and predictions for team Athletics vs Blue Jays on April 16.
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Athletics vs Blue Jays odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
As expected, the Blue Jays are the favorite here, opening with -208 odds, while the Athletics are at +170. The total opened at 9 and stayed there, with the Over at -105 and the Under -110.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full MLB odds before placing your bets.
Athletics vs Blue Jays predictions
Picks made on 4/16/2022 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Athletics vs Blue Jays game info
• Location: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON
• Date: Saturday, April 16, 2022
• First pitch: 3:07 p.m. ET
• TV: NBCS-California, Sportsnet
Athletics vs Blue Jays betting preview
Starting pitchers
Paul Blackburn (1-0, 0.00 ERA): Blackburn wasn’t expected to make the Athletics' starting rotation, but was pressed into service with an injury to James Kaprielian and Brent Honeywell. He pitched on Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays, scattering three hits over five innings and striking out a career-high seven.
Hyun Jin Ryu (0-0, 16.20 ERA): The veteran lefty is being counted on to be one of the Top 3 starters for the Blue Jays, but in his season debut, the 35-year-old was roughed up by the Texas Rangers. Ryu couldn’t get out of the fourth inning, surrendering six earned runs on five hits.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Athletics: Ramon Laureano OF (Out), Deolis Guerra RP (Out), Skye Bolt OF (Out), Brent Honeywell SP (Out), James Kaprielian SP (Out).
Blue Jays: Nate Pearson SP (Out), Ryan Borucki RP (Out), Peter Fairbanks RP (Out), Teoscar Hernandez OF (Out), Danny Jansen C (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The A's have held fifth-inning leads in three of their last five games. Find more MLB betting trends for Athletics vs. Blue Jays.
Athletics vs Blue Jays picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Run line analysis
The Oakland Athletics are the surprise of MLB after a week of the 2022 season. The team that traded away three All-Stars in five days and wasn’t expected to compete.
However, the A's are 4-4 through eight games and are getting surprising performances from players.
One of those is right-handed pitcher Paul Blackburn. He wasn’t slotted to be in the starting rotation for Oakland but got an opportunity when James Kaprielian and Brent Honeywell went down with injuries. He gets the start on Saturday for an afternoon affair with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
In Blackburn’s season debut on Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays, he scattered three hits over five innings and struck out a career-high seven.
His opponent is Hyun Jin Ryu. Ryu had a disappointing end to 2021, and it may have carried over to this season. In his first game of 2022, Ryu gave up six earned runs against the Texas Rangers and was chased by the fourth inning.
The A’s lost to Toronto on Friday, 4-1, and that was against Ross Stripling, who has been far more effective this year than Ryu.
Oakland is 4-1 as an underdog in 2022 and 4-1 against teams with winning records. They might not win this afternoon, but they’ll keep it close.
Prediction: Athletics +1.5 (+100 at DraftKings)
Over/Under analysis
Both teams have been scoring runs, but not as much to affect the Over.
The Under has gone 4-1-1 for the A’s in their last five games. Toronto has gone Under four of their last five games, including Friday’s 4-1 victory over Oakland.
Now, the Blue Jays face Blackburn who was able to tame the Tampa Bay Rays, who rank eighth in the league in batting average. The Blue Jays rank 10th.
Blackburn, known mostly as a groundball pitcher, was very effective and if he can give them five good innings as he did in his last outing, reliever Dany Jimenez will set it up for closers Zach Johnson and Lou Trivino.
Jimenez has been another pleasant surprise for the A’s, allowing just one hit during his three appearances so far this season.
I see this as another close, low-scoring game — with the Under cashing once again.
Prediction: Under 9 (-110 at WynnBet)
Best bet
Oakland has been punching above its weight and I expect that to continue today against the Blue Jays. The A’s have won at least one game in their previous two series, and today is probably the best chance to get a victory against Toronto.
They need to jump on Ryu early, which as the South Korean showed in his first appearance this year, is completely possible. If they can chase Ryu early, they’ll get that early lead.
Blackburn is in for another challenge against this potent Blue Jays lineup. He'll have to tread lightly against Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who leads the MLB with five home runs, as well as centerfielder George Springer, who has two homers and a .306 batting average.
With Ryu vulnerable, though, this is the perfect spot for the A’s to get out to a quick lead. Whether they hold onto it, is another matter.
Pick: Athletics first five innings (+179 at BetMGM)
