MLB Picks: Blue Jays vs. Guardians

Toronto Blue Jays vs Cleveland Guardians
Date: Sunday, May 8th, 01:40 ET
Location: Progressive Field
TV: SNET-1
Money Line: Blue Jays -195 / Guardians +183 (GTBets)
Total Line: 7.5

STARTING PITCHING

Toronto: Alek Manoah (4-0, 1.45) Cleveland: Kirk McCarty (0-0, 12.0)

Blue Jays Projected Lineup

2B Santiago Espinal RF Raimel Tapia 3B Matt Chapman C Alejandro Kirk C Tyler Heineman 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. CF George Springer SS Bo Bichette

Guardians Projected Lineup

RF Franmil Reyes 2B Andrés Giménez 1B Josh Naylor SS Amed Rosario C Austin Hedges 3B José Ramírez 2B Owen Miller CF Myles Straw LF Steven Kwan

STRAIGHT UP/ OVER/UNDER / RUN LINE RECORDS

Toronto Blue Jays: 17-12-0 SU / OU 12-17-0 / Run Line W/L 12-17-0 Cleveland Guardians: 13-14-0 SU / OU 17-10-0 / Run Line W/L 15-12-0

The Cleveland Guardians host the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, May 8th at Progressive Field. The first pitch in this matchup is scheduled for 01:40 ET. The MLB Odds Board places the Jays as the favorite (-183), with an OU line set at 7.5.

Recent Form

The Blue Jays come into this matchup having suffered a -6 run loss to the Guardians (8-2). Toronto’s pitching staff finished the game by allowing 6, leading to 8. Offensively, they finished with just 2 on 10 hits. Blue Jays suffered the loss, despite being favored at -127.0. So far, the team has been the favorite in 20 of their games, winning at a rate of 65.0%. With the OU line set at 7.5 runs, Blue Jays and Guardians combined to go over this total. Even with this game going over the total, Toronto still has an over-under record of just 12-17-0.

In their last 5 games, the Blue Jays are below .500, at 2-3. This mark has come on an average run margin of just -9. During this stretch, the offense is averaging 3.6 runs per game, similar to their season-long average of 3.86. So far, Toronto has won over half of their 9 series played, going 6-2-1.

In their last game, the Cleveland Guardians picked up a 6-run win over Blue Jays by a score of 8-2. In the win, the pitching staff allowed just 2 on hits 10 hits. Despite being the underdogs, getting 117.0 on the moneyline, the Guardians still picked up the win. In their 8 games as the underdog, their SU win percentage sits at 75.0%. In terms of the over-under, the Guardians and Blue Jays combined to surpass the line of 7.5 runs. Overall, the team has gone over the betting line in over half of their games, going (17-10-0).

In their last 5 games, the Guardians have put together a record of 3-2. During this time, the team’s run differential sits at 2. Offensively, Cleveland’s lineup has been steady at 5.4 runs per game over their last 5 contests. For the season, the team comes in with a per game average of 4.74. On the season, Cleveland has won more than half of their series, going 4-3-2.

Pitching Matchup

For the Blue Jays, Alek Manoah gets the start. So far, he has put together a record of 4-0. Currently, Manoah has a strong ERA of just 1.45 while pitching an average of 6.2 innings per outing. So far, batters are hitting just 0.167 against him. Not only does Manoah have a strong batting average allowed figure, but he has also avoided giving up home runs, averaging just 0.87 home runs allowed per 9 innings pitched. On the season, Alek Manoah has had no problem racking up strikeouts, posting a strikeout percentage of 27.0%, while averaging 6.4 K’s per 9 innings. Leading into the game, he has shown a strong command of his pitches, averaging just 2.32 walks per contest.

For the Guardians, Kirk McCarty gets the start. So far, he has yet to factor into a decision. Leading up to the game, McCarty is hoping to bring down an ERA of 12.0. So far, he is averaging 3.0 innings per outing. Opposing lineups have put together a combined batting average of 0.308 against McCarty. In terms of power, the left-hander is giving up 6.0 homers per 9 innings pitched. Heading into today’s action, Kirk McCarty is averaging 3.0 K’s per 9 innings. Throughout the season, his strong command has led to an average of just 6.0 walks per contest.

Toronto vs Cleveland History

The Cleveland Guardians and Toronto Blue Jays have met up 3 times, with Cleveland winning the season series 2-1. Through 3 games, the series’ over-under record is 3-0, with the average run total sitting at 8.86 runs per game. In these matchups, the average scoring differential sits at 4.0 runs. Going back to last year, Toronto won the season series, 5 games to 2. In these 7 meetings, the two teams combined for an over-under record of 3-3. Last year, Toronto and Cleveland averaged 8.86 runs per game. On average, the winning team won by a margin of 3.71 runs per contest.

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Betting Trends

• The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Toronto’s last 17 games on the road
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto’s last 6 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
• Cleveland is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
• The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 7 games at home

Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Guardians Prediction

In the final game of this weekend’s series, look for Toronto to pick up the win, as they have a significant advantage on the mound, as Alek Manoah has yet to drop a game. On the other side, look for the Blue Jays offense to break out vs. Kirk McCarty.

Free Pick:

Blue Jays on the runline -1.5 -115