Oakland (4th – AL West) at Toronto (3rd – AL East)
Where: Rogers Centre
When: May 17, 2018 7:07PM EST
Moneyline: A’s +105 / Jays -115
Over/Under: 9.5
By expert handicapper Rich Crew

The Oakland A’s head to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays in a weekend series at the Rogers Centre. The MLB betting board at BetOnline lists the host as a -118 favorite with a total line of 9.5 runs.

The Athletics come into this game amid a 10-game road trip having played a trio of games against both the Yankees and Red Sox. They have fared OK going 3-3 against the AL East heavyweights and will now play a four-game set in Toronto. On the season the A’s have a mediocre road record of 10-13.

The Jays finished up a short two-game slugfest at Citi Field that they split where the victor in each game put up a dozen runs. They did win the finale 12-1 breaking off a three-game losing streak, and the offensive explosion may be a sign of things to come. 3B Josh Donaldson went two for three picking up a couple of RBIs and lifting his batting average to .321 over his last seven games. Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez continued to stroke the ball well extending his hitting streak to five games.

Tonight’s game will be the first meeting between these two clubs. Last season Toronto got the money in the previous five to take the series 5-2, and home was the place to be with the host winning six of the seven matches.

Pitching Match-Up

Andrew Triggs: The Oakland starter will be making his ninth start this campaign and brings a 3-1 won/lost record, and 5.31 earned run average. This will be his first career start against Toronto, and he has a limited history against the projected line-up with Donaldson going one for one and R. Martin going hitless with one at-bat. On the road, this season Triggs is 2-1 with a 5.26 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in five starts recording a QS in just one.

Aaron Sanchez: Like Triggs Sanchez will be getting the ball for the ninth time this season. His record on the season is an underwhelming 2-3, and the Jays are a money-losing 3-5 in his starts. Sanchez has yet to win at home this season, but he has pitched reasonably well recording a quality start in half of his four outings and holding his opponent to three or fewer runs in all but his first start.

Betting Trends

  • Oakland is 4-2 ATS in its last six games on the road
  • The total has gone OVER in four of Oakland’s last six games on the road
  • The total has gone UNDER in four of Toronto’s last six games at home
  • Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last five games when playing Oakland
  • The total has gone UNDER in four of Toronto’s last six games when playing Oakland
  • Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last five games when playing at home against Oakland

Public Money

The early money from the public has come in on Toronto with the Jays on 61% of the money line tickets. The total has been a mixed bag with 51% of the O/U wagering landing on the OVER.

Athletics at Jays Prediction 5/17/18

Oakland starter Andrew Triggs doesn’t have great numbers on the road this season, with a bloated 5.26 ERA, but he did pitch adequately in four of his five starts. Triggs should have the edge in the early innings with only two of the Jays batters having any experience against him. Sanchez comes into the game still having some issue with control with ten walks in his last three starts. That said, I expect him to have a strong performance tonight. The Jays righty has strong historical stats versus the Athletics although it’s not the largest sample size holding Oakland’s starters to a .214 BA in 15 at-bats. Sanchez has pitched OK at home this season based on the competition he has faced with two starts against the Red Sox and one versus the Yankees. I feel the total line is high for this pitching match-up making the total the way to go here.

Crew’s Pick: Take the UNDER 9.5 at 5Dimes to get the best line on this game and guys if you don’t have an account here, now is the time to save money all season long with this betting shop’s overnight nickel lines and dime line betting on game day!