The Toronto Blue Jays head to Yankee Stadium as MLB odds underdogs for their first meeting of the season against the New York Yankees as they look to bounce back from a sluggish series against the Astros, where they scored just two runs in three games.
The Yankees, who are 6-1 to start the year, will send former Blue Jay Marcus Stroman to the mound as he looks to build on an impressive six-inning performance in his team debut.
Will Stroman shut down his former club? Find out in my Blue Jays vs Yankees MLB picks and predictions for Friday, April 5.
Blue Jays vs Yankees odds
Blue Jays vs Yankees predictions
It’s been an excruciatingly slow start to the season at the plate for the Toronto Blue Jays, who come into Friday averaging 3.14 runs per game — the fifth-worst mark in the majors. The Jays had a couple strong showings in their opening series against the Rays but fell off completely vs the Astros as they were shut out twice and scored just two runs in the three-game set.
In fact, the series in Houston was arguably the worst offensive performance in franchise history, as Toronto’s nine hits and .106 batting average were the lowest marks the club has ever recorded in a three-game set.
Things won’t get any easier this afternoon against the New York Yankees as the Jays will face their own former starter in Marcus Stroman. The right-hander was excellent in his debut for the Pinstripes on March 30, and he scattered four hits and struck out four over six innings en route to victory.
The Blue Jays are batting an abysmal .144 against right-handed pitchers this season to go along with a .250 OBP and .492 OPS. Outside of the newly-acquired Justin Turner, who’s batting .318 with four RBI, there’s really nothing to like about Toronto’s performance at the plate thus far this season.
My best bet: Blue Jays Under 3.5 runs (-122 at PROLINE+)
Blue Jays star player prop
Justin Turner Over 0.5 RBI (+175)
With the Blue Jays struggling to get much of anything going offensively, Turner remains the team’s most likely option to give them a spark. The 39-year-old maintains the team lead in batting average (.318), hits (7), and total bases (14) while he ranks tied for first in RBI with Alejandro Kirk (4).
Turner has historically done well against Stroman, too, batting .444 over nine career at bats vs the Yankees starter, with two doubles and two singles.
Justin Turner prop: Over 0.5 RBI (+175 at PROLINE+)
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Blue Jays vs Yankees moneyline and Over/Under analysis
- The Yankees opened as the home favorite at -145 and betting has pushed their edge up closer to around -155 at most books by Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays opened at +134 as the road dog.
- Today’s total opened at 8.5 runs and remained steady there through Thursday night.
- The Under is 5-1 in New York’s last six games and 2-0 in Toronto’s last two outings.
- 76% of bets were on the Yankees moneyline through Thursday night.
Trend to know
The Under is 13-6 in the last 19 meetings. Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Yankees
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Blue Jays vs Yankees game info
| Location: | Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY |
| Date: | Friday, April 5, 2024 |
| First pitch: | 1:05 p.m. ET |
| TV: | Sportsnet, YES |
Starting pitchers
Yusei Kikuchi (0-1, 6.23 ERA): Like most of the Blue Jays roster, Yusei Kikuchi’s season debut was not the prettiest, as he allowed six hits and three earned runs over 4.1 innings to the Rays on March 30. The southpaw had a career year with Toronto last season as he went 11-6 with a 3.86 ERA.
Marcus Stroman (1-0, 0.00 ERA): Stroman allowed just four hits and two walks in his debut for the Yankees, and while the Astros scored three runs, they were all unearned. The right-hander will likely be fired up to take on the Blue Jays — the team that drafted him in 2012.
