The Toronto Blue Jays boast a load of talent and look to flip the structure of power in the AL East. This talented team is loaded with potential and missed the playoffs a season ago despite finishing the regular season with 91 wins.
The push for bigger and better things in 2022 begins with a season opener against the Texas Rangers, who were one of the worst teams in the league in 2021, recording just 60 wins. Texas has made several offseason moves — including poaching former Jays star Marcus Semien — that it hopes will pay immediate dividends.
Check out our free MLB picks and predictions for Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, April 8.
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Rangers vs Blue Jays odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
There has not been a ton of line movement, as Toronto opened -170 and currently sits at -175 across most books. The total opened at 9.5 but has been bet down to 9.0.
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.
Rangers vs Blue Jays predictions
Picks made on 4/8/2022 at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Rangers vs Blue Jays game info
• Location: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON
• Date: Friday, April 8, 2022
• First pitch: 7:07 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports Southwest, Rogers Sportsnet
Rangers vs Blue Jays betting preview
Starting pitchers
Jon Gray (2021: 8-12, 4.59 ERA): Gray will welcome the chance to call a ballpark other than Coors Field his home, as the 6-foot-4 righty entered the league in 2015 and has played every season for the Colorado Rockies. Oddly enough, he actually has a slightly higher ERA on the road (4.65) than at home (4.54) in his career. Last year he had 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings while having an issue with walks (3.5 BB/9).
Jose Berrios (12-9, 3.52 ERA): After five-and-a-half years with the Minnesota Twins, Berrios was traded to the Blue Jays a season ago. The ace has been a reliable presence on the mound since entering the league, as his ERA hasn’t been above 4.00 since his rookie season in 2016. Across two teams in 2021, Berrios struck out 9.6 batters per nine innings while issuing only 2.1 walks per nine
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Rangers: Eli White LF (Questionable), Jose Leclerc RP (Out), Garrett Richards SP/RP (Out), Jonathan Hernandez RP (Out).
Blue Jays: Jordan Romano RP (Probable), Cavan Biggio 2B (Questionable), Ryan Borucki RP (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Blue Jays are 4-1 in their last five home games. Find more MLB betting trends for Rangers vs. Blue Jays.
Rangers 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.
Moneyline analysis
Don’t let the fact that they missed the playoffs fool you: On top of being young, exciting, and talented, the Toronto Blue Jays were a good baseball team in 2021. A deadly lineup was the primary reason for success, as they led the league in OPS (.796) and home runs (262) while ranking third in runs scored (846).
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. didn’t win the MVP only because the other-worldly Shohei Otani exists. The slugger accumulated a gaudy stat line of .311 BA, 48 HR, and 111 RBI despite playing the season at the young age of 22. They did lose shortstop Marcus Semien and his 45 homers from a year ago to the Rangers, so there will be a familiar face in the opposing dugout.
This lineup should still be very dangerous, aided by the return to health of outfielder George Springer and the acquisition of versatile third baseman Matt Chapman from the Oakland A's.
Berrios has been a cool cucumber during his time in the major leagues, never once letting his ERA balloon above 4.00 for a season. The sample size is small for his time in Toronto, but Berrios has pitched much better at home (3.50 ERA) than on the road (4.59 ERA) in his career.
Berrios faces off with a Rangers team that finished dead last in the MLB in OPS (.669) in 2021. They failed to generate much of an offense, prompting them to overhaul the roster. Semien, Corey Seager, and Mitch Garver are the most notable acquisitions and are expected to bring life to this dormant lineup.
The Blue Jays still have the better lineup, however, and are sending the better pitcher to the mound — plus the Jays will benefit from playing at home. Toronto won 58% of its games (47-34) at home a season ago despite not being able to play at the Rogers Centre until July.
We think the home team begins the season 1-0.
Prediction: Blue Jays moneyline (-165 at DraftKings)
Over/Under analysis
As mentioned earlier, this Toronto lineup was lethal a season ago and should put up big numbers on the scoreboard again in 2022. Gray has enough experience under his belt that by now we know what kind of pitcher he is — a solid one, if not middling.
While one would think that time away from Coors will do Gray some good, his home/road splits aren’t much different over his career and the Rogers Centre is a hitter-friendly environment.
Gray thrives when he’s able to rack up the strikeouts against opposing lineups, but that’s no sure bet in this matchup as the Blue Jays struck out the least amount of any team in the league a year ago.
On the other side, it’s difficult to know what to expect from this Rangers lineup. The additions of Semien, Seager, and Garver will almost certainly lead to improvement, but that isn’t saying a whole lot considering the depth of despair this lineup reached in 2021. I expect Texas' bats to be improved but still project it as a bottom-third offense.
Berrios is as solid as they come and I anticipate a strong showing here at home on Opening Day. New faces be damned, I’m not trusting this Rangers lineup to contribute to the Over.
Prediction: Under 9 (-105 at PointBet)
Best bet
The Blue Jays have the advantage on the mound and in the batter's box. This is a very talented baseball team that will be looking to make waves this season after missing the playoffs a season ago.
We like Berrios’ quality to shine through in the early innings and will be taking Toronto on the run line in the first five innings.
Pick: Blue Jays first five innings -0.5 (-110 at FanDuel)
