Toronto Blue Jays Vs. Boston Red Sox (7/23/22) Starting Lineup, Betting Odds, Prediction

Through 93 games of 2022, Toronto is 50-43: third place in the American League East.  The Blue Jays are +4000 to win their division and +1500 to win the 2022 World Series: their third in franchise history.  Toronto has made only three playoff appearances (2015, 2016 and 2020) since their last title in almost 20 years ago.

Boston is 48-45 in 93 games of the 2022 season: fourth place in the American League East.  They are +8000 to win the AL East this season; their last division title was 2018.  The Red Sox are +3500 to win their fifth World Series since 2000; their last title was 2018.

Toronto Blue Jays Vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Odds

The Blue Jays are 1-6 in their last seven Saturday games.  Over is 4-1 in Toronto’s last five Saturday games.  The Blue Jays are 0-4 in their last four road games vs. a team with a winning record.  Over is 6-2 in Toronto’s last eight during game two of a series.  The Red Sox are 1-6 in their last seven vs. American League East.  Over is 4-0 in Boston’s last four vs. American League East.  The Red Sox are 0-6 in their last six during game two of a series.  Over is 20-7 in Boston’s last 27 vs. a team with a winning record.

Toronto Blue Jays Starting Lineup

CF G. Springer R
SS B. Bichette R
1B V. Guerrero R
DH A. Kirk R
RF T. Hernandez R
LF L. Gurriel R
3B M. Chapman R
2B S. Espinal R
C G. Moreno R

Toronto Blue Jays Vs. Kutter Crawford (R)

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is hitting .271 while leading the team in home runs (20), runs batted in (57) and total bases (170) this season.  Additionally, the 23-year-old has a slugging percentage of .484 with an OPS of .830 in 2022. 

This season, Bo Bichette has 99 hits overall; 20 doubles, 14 home runs, 161 total bases with a .720 OPS.  Additionally, he’s knocked in 50 runs, scored 49 runs with a .418 slugging percentage in 2022.  This season, Matt Chapman has 16 doubles, 15 home runs, 45 runs batted in, 130 total bases with a .728 OPS. 

George Springer in his second year as a Blue Jay, is hitting .250 in his first 300 at-bats of 2022.  He’s hit 17 home runs (second on the club), driven in 42 runs with 146 total bases this campaign.  Springer has an OPS of .805 with a slugging percentage of .474 that is third on the Blue Jays this year. 

This campaign, Alejandro Kirk has been awesome behind the plate for Toronto this year as he started the All-Star Game for the American League this past Tuesday.   The 23-year-old catcher leads the team in batting average (.315), OPS (.882) and slugging percentage (.487) this season.  He’s belted 11 home runs, driven in 37 runs, and accumulated 130 total bases through his first 83 games played in 2022.

Kutter Crawford has appeared in 13 games (four starts) this season, going 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA.  He’s struck out 44 batters and allowed 18 runs in 36 innings with a 1.361 WHIP in 2022.

Boston Red Sox Starting Lineup

CF J. Duran L
3B R. Devers L
DH J. Martinez R
SS X. Bogaerts R
LF A. Verdugo L
2B Jeter Downs R
1B F. Cordero L
C C. Vazquez R
RF J. Bradley L

Boston Red Sox Vs. Alek Manoah (R)

An All-Star starter for a second straight season, Rafael Devers leads Boston in hitting with a .324 batting average.  Additionally, he leads the team in hits (112), home runs (22), slugging percentage (.601), OPS (.980) and total bases (208).  The 25-year-old has driven in 55 runs, while scoring 62 runs in 2022.   Devers is +2000 to win the 2022 American League MVP.

Xander Bogaerts, a four-time All-Star is hitting .316 with 24 doubles, seven home run, 37 runs batted in with 149 total bases.  He also has a .453 slugging percentage with an OPS of .842 in 2022.

Alex Verdugo has hit six home runs with 48 runs batted in and 125 total bases.  He has a slugging percentage of .372 with an OPS of .678in 2022.  Spending most of his time as Boston’s designated hitter J.D. Martinez, an All-Star is hitting .302 with 30 doubles (leads the Red Sox), nine home runs, 38 runs batted in with 153 total bases. 

Christian Vazquez is hitting .273 through his first 250 at-bats of the season.  He’s hit six home runs, knocked in 36 runs with 106 total bases this year.  Additionally, he has a slugging percentage of .414 and an OPS of .732 in 2022.

Alek Manoah is 10-4 in 18 starts with an ERA of 2.28 this season.  The All-Star has tossed 114 2/3 innings in 2022, striking out 103 batters, allowing 29 runs with a .959 WHIP.  In only his second season in the big leagues Manoah has a career record of 19-6 with an ERA of 2.74 in 38 starts.  The righty is +1800 to win the American League Cy Young this year.

Toronto Blue Jays Vs. Boston Red Sox Picks & Prediction

Toronto is averaging 4.66 runs per nine innings, ninth in Major League Baseball. They have a team batting average of .262, second in the league, and their OPS is .759, third in all of MLB.  The Blue Jays pitching staff has allowed 4.40 runs per nine innings, 18^th in the league with opponents’ batting .249 against the team, 21^stin MLB. 

The Red Sox are averaging 4.67 runs per nine innings, eighth in the majors, fourth in batting average at .256 and an OPS of .728, eighth in the big leagues.  Boston’s pitching staff is allowing 4.27 runs per nine innings, 19^th in Major League Baseball and foes are hitting .240 against the Red Sox: 13^th in the big leagues. 

I’ll go with the road team, Toronto Blue Jays in this game behind their ace Alek Manoah.  The 24-year-old showed off his pitching prowess on a national stage this past Tuesday in the All-Star Game as he pitched one inning, striking out all three batters he faced.  Toronto covers the 1.5 run spread as the clubs combine for under 9.5 runs on a Saturday at Fenway Park.