All of a sudden, the Toronto Blue Jays offense has woken up and they enter tonight’s series opener against the Chicago White Sox winners of five in a row.
And the Jays will be big favorites for tonight’s matchup as they hand the ball to ace Kevin Gausman but extending the winning streak won’t be easy, going against Lucas Giolito. Can Toronto make it six straight wins, or is the value with Chicago as an underdog?
Find out in our free MLB betting picks and predictions for White Sox vs. Blue Jays on Tuesday, May 31.
White Sox vs Blue Jays odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Blue Jays opened this American League matchup as -160 home favorites and have been bet as high as -190 as of Tuesday afternoon. The total hit the board at 7.5 and hasn’t seen too much action but the number is juiced slightly to the Over.
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.
White Sox vs Blue Jays predictions
- Prediction: Blue Jays -1.5 (+130)
- Prediction: Under 7.5 (+100)
- Best bet: Gausman Under 5.5 hits allowed (-115)
Picks made on 5/31/2022 at 3:00 [.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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White Sox vs Blue Jays game info
• Location: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON
• Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2022
• First pitch: 7:07 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC Sports Chicago, Sportsnet 1
White Sox vs Blue Jays betting preview
Starting pitchers
Lucas Giolito (3-1, 2.63 ERA): While the White Sox have been disappointing in several areas, Giolito hasn't been one of them. The right-hander hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any of his seven starts and is striking out a career-high 12.2 batters per nine innings.
Kevin Gausman (4-3, 2.25 ERA): At this point, it looks like the Blue Jays made the right decision in signing Gausman. The right-hander with the devastating splitter looks like one of the best pitchers in baseball and has recorded a quality start in six of his last seven games.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
White Sox: Yoan Moncada 3B (Questionable), Tim Anderson SS (Out), Kendall Graveman RP (Out), Eloy Jimenez OF (Out), Joe Kelly RP (Out).
Blue Jays: Danny Jansen C (Questionable), Tim Mayza RP (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Under is 4-0-1 in Giolito's last five starts overall and is 6-0 in the Blue Jays' last six games as a home favorite. Find more MLB betting trends for White Sox vs. Blue Jays
White Sox 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
The Blue Jays opened this American League matchup as -160 home favorites and have been bet as high as -190 as of Tuesday afternoon. The total hit the board at 7.5 and hasn’t seen too much action but the number is juiced slightly to the Over.
Something shocking happened over the weekend. The Blue Jays started to hit with runners in scoring position.
Toronto went 20-50 (.400) with runners in scoring position against the Los Angeles Angels and was able to ride that to a four-game sweep and their fifth win in a row. So, the question is, was that a mirage for a team that entered the weekend hitting an MLB-worst .178 with RISP?
Well, they’ll be put to the test in the opener of this series against the White Sox, who will hand the ball to their ace in Lucas Giolito. The right-hander has been solid this season, never allowing more than three earned runs in a start and racking up strikeouts with the best in baseball.
That said, his expected ERA of 3.86 and expected batting average to opponents of .242 seem to indicate he is down for a slight regression.
However, the real problem for Chicago entering this series is its already-struggling offense and bullpen which will be missing a few key pieces.
The Pale Hose enter this season with high expectations for their lineup but they rank 26th in batting average and 28th in OPS when facing right-handers. And now shortstop Tim Anderson, seemingly the only player who has been hitting well for them, has landed on the IL.
So, the White Sox will have to try and manage a matchup with Kevin Gausman without him. Gausman has been one of the best pitchers in baseball combining his nasty split-finger with a fastball up in the zone. The result is an xERA of 2.64.
The bullpen is an already battered group that ranks 25th in ERA and opponent batting average and will also be without the unvaccinated Kendall Graveman.
It feels like these teams are trending in opposite directions, and while Giolito should keep his team in the game for a while, the ChiSox bats and bullpen will disappoint. Take the Jays by a couple of runs.
Prediction: Blue Jays -1.5 (+130 at bet365)
Over/Under analysis
While Blue Jays fans are jumping for joy over the sight of their team beginning to hit with runners in scoring position, we have to remember this team was hitting just .178 with RISP heading into L.A. So let’s not go crazy and say they’re all the way back, especially against Gioltio.
The right-hander won’t be an easy matchup. He has pitched well all season, while the Jays rank 19th, and 18th respectively when it comes to hitting against right-handed pitchers. In one start against the Jays last season, Giolito limited them to one run on five hits over six innings, in what was an eventual 3-1 Jays victory.
We already spoke about why Gausman should also do his part to silence Chicago's bats, and in doing so will pitch deep enough into the game so manager Charlie Montoyo can hand the ball to his best relievers. Bet on the pitching to be the story in this one.
Prediction: Under 7.5 (+100 at bet365)
Best bet
This game has Kevin Gausman gem written all over it. The guy is pitching so well right now and going against a White Sox lineup struggling against right-handers and missing its best player in Tim Anderson.
Gausman to record the win at plus money is very tempting, but Giolito has the ability to go punch-for-punch with him. So, instead, let’s look at his hits allowed prop.
Since surrendering 21 hits over his first 18 2-3 innings of the season, Gausman has allowed just 32 over his last 37 2-3 innings and is allowing opponents to hit just .231 off him in the month of May. And if you have watched Gausman's starts, a lot of those hits have come off soft contact.
He’s gone Under this number in two of his last three starts and should make it 3-for-4 against this White Sox lineup in its current state.
Pick: Kevin Gausman Under 5.5 hits allowed (-115)
