The Oakland Athletics coughed up a 5-1 lead to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, but a Cristian Pache two-run homer in the 9th inning gave the A's a lead that they wouldn't squander.
Oakland was +190 on the moneyline coming into that game, and are large underdogs yet again on Sunday. Can the A's pull off the upset, or will Toronto's lethal lineup be too much to handle?
Find out more in our free MLB picks and predictions for Athletics vs. Blue Jays on Sunday, April 17.
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Athletics vs Blue Jays odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
Toronto opened as -210 favorites on the moneyline, with the total set at 8.5, juiced to the Over. Money has poured in on the Jays as they are now listed at -240 with Oakland at +200.
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
- Prediction: Blue Jays RL (-120)
- Prediction: Under 8.5 (+105)
- Best bet: A Run in the 1st inning — Yes (-120)
Picks made on 4/16/2022 at 10:30 p.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: Sunday, April 17, 2022
• First pitch: 1:37 p.m. ET
• TV: NBCS-California, Sportsnet
Athletics vs Blue Jays betting preview
Starting pitchers
Adam Oller (0-0, 33.75 ERA): Oller sported a 2.45 ERA and 1.02 ERA in 44.0 innings of AAA ball last year in the Mets organization. The 27-year-old made his MLB debut against Tampa Bay on April 12 and lasted only 1 1-3 innings, giving up five hits and five earned runs (including two home runs) to the Rays while walking three batters.
Alek Manoah (1-0, 0.00 ERA): Manoah dazzled in his first start of 2022, pitching six innings of shutout ball against the New York Yankees on April 11. The 24-year-old right-hander struck out seven and only allowed one hit in the Bronx as the Yanks couldn't figure him out at all that night.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Athletics: Stephen Piscotty RF (Out), Skye Bolt CF (Out), Austin Allen C (Out).
Blue Jays: Teoscar Hernandez RF (Out), Danny Jansen C (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Blue Jays are 7-0 in Manoah's last 7 starts after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game. 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
To say that Adam Oller is a baseball journeyman is an understatement.
20th round pick.
— Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB) April 1, 2022
Pirates Minor Leaguer.
Frontier Leaguer.
Giants Minor Leaguer.
Minor League Rule 5 pick.
Mets Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
40-man roster member.
Trade acquisition for a Major Leaguer.
And now Adam Oller is: A Major Leaguer. https://t.co/QgTmf6oBoB
Oller earned the final spot on the Oakland roster on April 1 and finds himself in the A's five-man rotation after the trade of Sean Manaea to San Diego. Unfortunately for him, he's going from facing an already elite Rays offense, to an even more loaded one in the Blue Jays'.
Led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Blue Jays have hit the second-most home runs in the MLB behind the Angels. Teoscar Hernandez landing on the IL is rough, but the Jays still have plenty of offensive firepower with George Springer and Bo Bichette at the top of the order to compliment Vlad.
Springer has gotten off to a hot start to the season with the bat and will be coming off a rest day. Meanwhile, Guerrero Jr. has picked up where he left off in 2021, currently sporting a godly .367/.406/.900 slash line.
If his first start was any sign, Alek Manoah is proving that his rookie season was no fluke. He finished 8th in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2021, boasting a 9-2 record and 3.22 ERA over 111 2-3 innings.
The homegrown first-round pick of the Jays is arguably Toronto's top starter due to the decline of Hyun-Jin Ryu, and the inconsistency of both Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi. In fact, it puzzled me when manager Charlie Montoyo elected to have Berrios start the Blue Jays season opener against Texas and not Manoah or Kevin Gausman.
Yimi Garcia is arguably the Blue Jays' best reliever and saw action on Saturday, but Montoyo's team will most likely have reliable vets Adam Cimber and Trevor Richards available so I'm not too concerned about their bullpen depth for when and if Manoah comes out.
Both teams are 5-4 on the season but the talent discrepancy is enormous. Toronto should win this Sunday matinee affair quite easily.
Prediction: Blue Jays RL (-120 at bet365)
Over/Under analysis
I wouldn't be surprised if the Blue Jays still managed to make this game go over all by themselves. Toronto's lineup can score in bunches and should tag Oller early, making Oakland go to their weak bullpen.
Manoah is going to make the Over harder to cash than I would like, but even at plus money, I simply can't bet on the Under when a matchup features this Jays squad.
The Over is 6-1-1 in Blue Jays' last 8 games with the total set at 11 or higher. Although that stat carries over from last season, that statistic alone still means a great deal when deciding how to handicap this game.
The Over has also been 4-1 in Oakland's last five games as an underdog, which (spoiler alert), have been all of them.
Prediction: Over 8.5 (-125 at bet365)
Best bet
There may not be a better 1-3 in the league than Springer, Bichette, and Vlad. Factor in a highly inexperienced pitcher that was shelled in his last outing and that's why we're banking on a run in the 1st inning.
Losing Teoscar Hernandez in this case hurts, but Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Matt Chapman are both starting to swing the bat well and are both coming off two-hit performances on Saturday.
Chapman hit his second home run in a Toronto uniform on Saturday, and sometimes we forget that he can be much more than a defensive wizard when he's right.
Toronto has successfully scored in the first inning in three of their last four games. I doubt Oakland gets to Manoah in the first frame, but if that helps this bet cash too, so be it.
Prediction: A run in the 1st inning — Yes (-120 at bet365)
