The Toronto Blue Jays erased a 7-0 deficit to earn a 10-8 win over the Texas Rangers in their season opener. Now, the Blue Jays will look to move to 2-0 with Kevin Gausman making his first start for the team.
Will Toronto make it back-to-back wins against Texas here? Continue reading our Rangers vs. Blue Jays MLB picks and predictions for Saturday, April 9 to find out.
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Rangers vs Blue Jays odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Rangers opened as +180 underdogs in this game, but the best odds you can find for them as of writing is +175. Meanwhile, the best line you’ll find on the Jays is -189.
The total, which opened at 9, has mostly stayed still, but you can get good odds on the Under. Perhaps that means the number will move up a bit.
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 4/9/2022 at 2:10 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 Stadium, Toronto, ON
• Date: Saturday, April 9, 2022
• First pitch: 3:07 p.m. ET
• TV: Sportsnet, Bally Sports Network
Rangers vs Blue Jays betting preview
Starting pitchers
Dane Dunning (2021: 5-10, 4.51 ERA): Dunning wasn’t very reliable in his first year as a starter for the Rangers, and the 27-year-old is coming off of a pretty lousy Spring Training. In 6.2 innings of work, the righty gave up eight earned runs. His control was a pretty big issue, as he walked five hitters, and he also gave up 10 hits.
Kevin Gausman (2021: 14-6, 2.81 ERA): Gausman had the best year of his career with the Giants last season, and he turned that into a five-year, $110 million deal with the Blue Jays. The righty is coming off a season in which he had 227 strikeouts, and he’ll now look to build on a solid spring. Gausman pitched 6.0 innings in Spring Training, and he only gave up two earned runs.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Rangers: Matt Bush P (Out).
Blue Jays: Nate Pearson P (Out), Ryan Borucki P (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Rangers are 15-42 in their last 57 games as road underdogs. 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
Not only is Texas just 15-42 in its last 57 games as a road underdog, but the team is also just 3-12 in its last 15 games against the AL East. The Rangers had a good chance to change those trends for the better yesterday, but they squandered a 7-0 lead. It was a really bad early sign for a Texas bullpen that was already a question mark heading into the season. And that bullpen makes it hard to trust the Rangers against this explosive Blue Jays offense, especially with Dunning starting this game.
Dunning struck out six in 5.0 innings of one-run ball in his only start against Toronto last season, but that was a home game. Last year, Dunning was 5-3 with a 3.09 ERA when pitching in Arlington, but he was a miserable 0-7 with a 6.39 ERA on the road. It’s not going to be easy for him to change that against the Blue Jays, who flexed their offensive muscle by scoring 10 runs yesterday. This is also a really hard place to pitch once the offense gets going, as these fans can get loud when the team is buzzing.
The Jays are also sending a very good starter to the mound in this one, as Gausman will be making his Toronto debut after a career year with San Francisco. Gausman was 8-3 with a 2.28 ERA in day games last year, and he was also 1-0 with a 2.14 ERA over five starts in April. With that said, these are the conditions in which the righty thrived in 2021, and he’ll now look to turn in a good outing against what can be a dangerous Rangers outfit.
If Gausman can at least turn in a quality start in this one, Toronto should have no trouble winning here. We like his chances to do that.
Prediction: Blue Jays (-189 at WynnBet)
Over/Under analysis
After combining to score 18 runs in the first game of this series, things should calm down a bit on Saturday. While Dunning really struggled on the road last season, it’s hard to ignore the success he had in his only meeting with this Blue Jays team. So, while Toronto should make things really rough on him in this game, it wouldn’t be too shocking if the righty could find a way to hold the Jays to four or five run.
As for Gausman, the Blue Jays are expecting some huge things from the righty, who was essentially brought in to replace 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray. While the 31-year-old might not be able to completely have the same impact, Gausman is a big-time starter and that’s why he commanded big money in the offseason. With that said, look for him to make a good first impression for Jays fans. Gausman has been a fast starter in recent years, and he was also sharp in Spring Training.
The Under also happens to be 13-6-4 in the last 23 games that Toronto has played as a home favorite, and it’s also 19-6-5 in the last 30 games the Jays have played in games with totals between 9 and 10.5.
Prediction: Under 9 (+100 at DraftKings)
Best bet
Last year, lefties hit .279 in 204 at-bats against Dunning, and lefties also gave the Rangers’ starter some issues when he was with the Chicago White Sox back in 2020. This Blue Jays lineup doesn’t boast many lefties at the plate, but third baseman Cavan Biggio fits the bill. Biggio has had his issues at the plate despite having some lofty expectations as a prospect, but he should be a threat to make something happen in this game.
For a guy that hit .224 last year to have -145 odds to get a hit means that the oddsmakers definitely believe that the 26-year-old has a good chance of making something happen with his bat. That’s why they juiced the Over on this one, and it’s worth taking a shot on him to come through. The Under just seems too enticing at plus-money, making it too good to be true. And this matchup is definitely a good one for him.
Pick: Cavan Biggio Over 0.5 Total Hits (-145 at Caesars)
