On Saturday, the Tampa Bay Rays host the Toronto Blue Jays after having earned a 5-2 win in the series opener on Friday. The Blue Jays enter this one on a five-game losing streak, so they’ll be really eager to get back into the win column.
Will Toronto snap its cold streak with a win at The Trop? Keep reading our Blue Jays vs. Rays MLB picks and predictions for May 14 to find out.
Blue Jays vs Rays odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Blue Jays opened as a +116 underdogs against the Rays. They’re now as low as +100 and the best odds you’ll find on them is +110. That’s despite most of the action being on Tampa Bay early.
The total, which opened at 8.5, is either going off at 8 or 8.5 across all sportsbooks. You’ll either need to pay juice to take the Over at 8 or the Under at 8.5.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until first pitch and be sure to check out the full MLB odds before placing your bets.
Blue Jays vs Rays predictions
Picks made on 5/14/2022 at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Blue Jays vs Rays game info
• Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
• Date: Saturday, May 14, 2022
• First pitch: 6:10 p.m. ET
• TV: Sportsnet, Bally Sports
Blue Jays vs Rays betting preview
Starting pitchers
Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-0, 13.50 ERA): This season has been rough for Ryu so far, as he's allowed 11 runs in 7 1-3 innings over two starts back in April. The lefty was then on the 10-day IL with an arm injury, and he’ll make his return here. The 35-year-old was 14-10 with a 4.37 ERA in 2021, but that came after three consecutive years with a sub-3.00 ERA. Perhaps his age is beginning to catch up to him a little, but Ryu is still a good starter and just needs to get healthy.
Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, 6.14 ERA): Yarbrough’s season began with him giving up five earned in only 2 1-3 innings of work against the Oakland A’s on May 3. The lefty followed it up with a much better outing, pitching five shutout innings in what ended up being a loss to the Seattle Mariners. Now, Yarbrough faces a team that he has struggled with in the past, so the 30-year-old will need to be sharp here.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Blue Jays: George Springer CF (Questionable), Ryan Borucki P (Out), Cavan Biggio 2B (Out), Danny Jansen C (Out), Nate Pearson P (Out).
Rays: Phoenix Sanders P (Out), Chris Mazza P (Out), Shane Baz P (Out), Luis Patino P (Out), Nick Anderson P (Out), Tyler Glasnow P (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Blue Jays are 22-8 in their last 30 games following a loss. Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Rays
Blue Jays vs Rays 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.
Moneyline analysis
Toronto is on a five-game losing streak coming into this one, but the team is 22-8 in its last 30 games following a loss. The Blue Jays are also 9-4 in their last 13 road games against teams with winning records, and they’re 15-6 in their last 21 games after having scored only two or fewer runs in their previous contest. Overall, despite the losing streak coming into this one, the Jays have shown resilience and an ability to bounce back recently, and have to feel good about doing so here.
The Blue Jays lineup has had success against Yarbrough in the past, as the lefty had just a 4.88 ERA in five appearances against Toronto last season. Also, his last start against the Jays was an absolute disaster, with the lefty giving up seven earned runs on eight hits in just 2 1-3 innings on September 13, 2021. To boot, Toronto’s in the Top 10 in the league in batting average against lefties.
The Jays are also ninth in the league in on-base plus slugging and tied for 10th in weighted runs created plus. None of that should be surprising given how much power Toronto has on the right side of the plate. Guys like Teoscar Hernandez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and George Springer (game-time decision) could all come through here.
Also, now that Ryu’s arm is feeling good, the lefty should be ready to go out there and perform at a high level against Tampa Bay. Ryu didn’t pick up a decision in either of his two starts against the Rays last year, but he did allow only two earned runs over 10 1-3 innings and struck out 12 batters against them. This is a match-up that the veteran really likes, and he should get his season back on track here.
Prediction: Blue Jays (+110 at WynnBET)
Over/Under analysis
The Blue Jays lit Yarbrough up the last time they faced him, and they generally have a lot of sluggers that like hitting against lefties. It’s easier for them to see the ball, and they’re facing a lefty that also happens to have seen his strikeout percentage decrease in each of the last four seasons. With that said, Toronto should be able to score five or so runs in this game, but that doesn’t mean the Under can’t hit here. Ryu is fully capable of blanking the Tampa Bay over five or six innings, and he’d just need a good performance from his bullpen to finish the job for Under bettors.
Tampa Bay had actually scored three or fewer runs in three straight games before scoring four and five in its last two, respectively. With that In mind, it’s certainly not out of the question that the Rays will go cold at the plate. The Under also happens to be 16-6 in the last 22 games in which Toronto was a road underdog. It’s also 5-0-2 in the last seven games that Tampa Bay has played against AL East opponents.
Prediction: Under 8.5 (-112 at FanDuel)
Best bet
The Blue Jays are really struggling coming into this game, but they have still scored at least five runs in three of their last seven contests. And no matter how bad this Toronto team is playing, you just can’t rule out an explosion from its loaded lineup. That’s especially true when the team gets a match-up it likes, and these Blue Jays players are definitely going to be looking forward to facing Yarbrough.
Toronto’s lineup is batting a combined .317 with seven doubles, nine homers and 17 RBIs in 131 total at-bats against the lefty, and it’s not often you’ll find that much team success against a starter. Hernandez is responsible for a lot of that damage, as he has four homers against Yarbrough in his career.
Win or lose, you can just count on the Jays offense showing up here, making it the best bet on the board.
Pick: Blue Jays Team Total Over 3.5 (-130 at Unibet)
