It’s time to put up or shut up for the Toronto Blue Jays who open a series at home on Tuesday’s baseball betting calendar against the New York Yankees.
Tuesday, September 28, 2021 – 7:07 PM EDT at Rogers Centre
New York will start the 3-game set at the top of the American League Wild Card standings, Boston one game back and Toronto two behind. Seattle is lurking a game behind the Blue Jays to add to the excitement of the final week of the regular season. The Yankees began the week with the longest active win streak in the Junior Circuit, a 6-game surge up the ranks, while Toronto had a modest 2-game run in the works.
This will be the first time in more than two years for the Yankees and Blue Jays to collide at Rogers Centre, and it will be the third time this season for Jameson Taillon (8-6, 4.41) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (13-9, 4.34) to square off against one another. Online betting sites are carrying Toronto around -120 on the money line, with shops listing 9-9½ for the scoreboard target.
Taillon and Ryu went toe-to-toe earlier this month in New York where the Blue Jays posted an 8-0 the whitewashing of the Yankees. Ryu went the first six for Toronto, and Taillon allowed three runs in his seven innings of work, the Blue Jays cashing as +120 and the final stopping short of a 9½-run total.
The two hurlers also squared off in mid-April up in Buffalo, and Ryu got the win in that one as well in a 7-3 final that closed with Toronto small chalk at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review). Taillon was pulled in the middle of the fourth inning having allowed five runs, while Ryu pitched into the seventh and kept the Yankees off the scoreboard once again.
Taillon hit the injured list after his September 6 start against the Blue Jays, the Yankees initially calling it a partially torn tendon in his right ankle. It must not have been too serious since the right-hander made a rehab start last week at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. New York has dropped his last two starts after winning eight in a row following the all-star break, and Taillon will be making his first career start at Rogers Centre.
Since beating the Yankees and Taillon earlier this month, Ryu has been knocked around in a couple of subsequent starts at Baltimore and home against Minnesota. Ryu exited in the third at
Oriole Park having allowed seven runs, though the Blue Jays rallied for an 11-10 win in a 7-inning, shortened doubleheader contest. He couldn’t even get an out in the third last Friday against the Twins and hit the showers early with five runs charged to his ledger.
New York’s pitching has been behind the current 6-game win streak and a big reason why four of the games finished ‘under’ the MLB betting odds. Opponents scored exactly three runs in five of the contests, and only managed one in another while the lineup was putting up better than six runs a game for the Yankees.
Toronto’s offense went a bit dry out on the road last week, the Blue Jays managing to score just four runs over a 3-game stretch of losses at Tampa Bay and Minnesota. Coming home with just a split in the 4-game set against the lowly Twins made the road trip disappointing, and not winning that series might ultimately doom Toronto to missing the playoffs.
Both sides have some injuries heading into the series opener. Toronto is listing outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. as questionable for Tuesday’s game. Gurriel missed the final three games of the Twins series after needing a couple of stitches in the middle finger on his right hand. New York has Aaron Judge (finger) and Joey Gallo (shin) on the questionable list.
The most profitable way to have bet this rivalry in 2021 has been to back the Blue Jays and the ‘under.’ Toronto has already laid claim to the season series with an 11-5 record against New York, though that won’t matter if the Blue Jays fail to make the postseason. The ‘under’ has also cashed in 11 of the 16 meetings. Since returning to Rogers Centre at the end of July, the Blue Jays are 21-9 at home. From 2017-19, Toronto and New York split the 28 matchups at the arena.
Even though Ryu has been solid against New York this season, I just like the bats in this one and will play the final to go past the total with my free MLB pick.
MLB Pick: Over 9½ (+105) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline 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.