Toronto closes out their series against the L.A. Angels tonight, trying to remain in the Wild Card hunt in the American League. With a fantantastic pitching matchup, this should be an excellent battle. With the real start of the NFL preseason on Thursday, major league baseball might get sort of lost on the betting scene.
However, if there is one game that demands attention, it is this one. Every Shohei Ohtani pitching start is a must-see. Match him up against one of the top right-handers in the AL the last several years in Jose Berrios and this is far better than an exhibition contest of backup players.
Thursday, August 12, 2021 – 09:38 PM EDT at Angel Stadium
Over the last couple of seasons, there’s been talk of all the young talent Toronto (62-51, +0.8 units) has brought to the big leagues and what a bright future they have. This team doesn’t want to talk about tomorrow, they want to win now.
That is the right attitude because how many teams have we seen over the years in all sports who look like the next “big thing”, who never go beyond that one season. The Blue Jays head into tonight with the 3rd best run differential in the AL, better than Boston, Oakland and New York combined, all who are ahead of them in the standings.
If Toronto can do a better job in closer games (14-24 in outcomes of two runs or less), they not only win tonight, they will make the playoffs. Top sportsbooks like BookMaker have Toronto as a -130 moneyline favorite. Those betting odds are higher than one might expect, but Angels’ manager Joe Maddon is filling out a lineup card that is lacking brand names that it usually would have.
It’s another lost season for the team from Anaheim and another without Mike Trout in his prime for a large chunk of it. Yet, they continue to hover around .500 and are doing so without the services of Trout, Anthony Rendon and lately, slugger Jared Walsh. If the Halos (57-58, -2.8) could ever right the pitching ship and have all hands-on deck on Maddon’s line card 140 games a year, this could be a 90-win baseball club.
Of course, it’s been years since the pitching at all levels was anything more than adequate and the number of continual injuries this franchise incurs annually is amazing. While we and others have been critical of Maddon’s postseason managerial skills, his positive approach and ability to handle the regular season are above reproach.
Jose Berrios (8-5, 3.23 ERA) has been among the most reliable on the junior circuit. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2016, he seldom misses a turn for some minor injury. His delivery is repeatable and he has a good loose body which should help him when he gets older since he’s only 6’0 tall. Berrios is only allowing a .214 batting average and against right handed batters, he is dominating them with only a .170 average this season. He’s also fantastic versus the opposing team’s heart of the order (hitters 3-4-5) with a .182 average allowed.
If you ever wondered what Babe Ruth was like, the modern version, at least this season, is Shohei Ohtani (5-1, 2.93). Besides leading the majors in home runs, he has an almost 3-1 K/W ratio, his WHIP is a superb 1.09 and as shown here, Ohtani’s ERA is under 3.00. If the powerful righthander had pitched 100 innings (at 86), he would be 6th in the majors in strikeouts per nine innings.
For MLB picks, one cannot overlook the Blue Jays have won 12 of 15. At the same time with all the holes in the batting order for the Halos, in their last eight contests, they have averaged 3.0 RPG. From a pitching perspective, the Angels are 6-17 vs. an AL starting pitcher whose ERA is 3.70 or better, with Toronto 9-2 in road games vs. a starting pitcher who gives up 0.5 or fewer homers a start this season. With the Jays having the stronger bullpen, they win Thursday night.
MLB Pick: Blue Jays ML -130 at BookMaker (visit our BookMaker Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.