Toronto Blue Jays vs Detroit Tigers Preview
The Detroit Tigers travel to the Rogers Centre to face the Toronto Blue Jays for their three-game series opener on July 19. Detroit has impressed recently with a rise in form against some of the strongest teams in the MLB.
Toronto fell to defeat on the road in their four-game series with Detroit in May. The Jays fans have not enjoyed watching their team under the CN Tower this season, even taking to booing their pitchers. Can Toronto gain a measure of revenge with the home advantage or will Detroit complete a double over the Blue Jays?
Toronto Blue Jays vs Detroit Tigers Head-To-Head and Key Stats
The latest series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers took place in May. Toronto opened with a 9-1 mauling over the Motor City Kitties following an eventful final three innings. Kevin Gausman struck out 10 inside six innings for his season-best performance. Daulton Varsho, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Isiah Kiner-Falefa combined for three homers to pull away from Detroit.
However, a trio of losses followed their first triumph at Comerica Park. Detroit came away with a 6-2 victory in the second game of the series. Kenta Maeda threw five scoreless innings and Colt Keith and Kerry Carpenter hit homers to help Detroit to a 6-0 lead in the ninth inning. The Jays scored on singles from Davis Schneider and Alejandro Kirk to avoid a shutout, but Toronto was left licking their wounds. A drab third game followed. Carpenter hit another two-run homer and Reece Olson limited Toronto to just three hits and an unearned run to see out the 2-1 victory.
Fans saw an absolute thriller in the last game of the series. The Tigers took a five-run lead after three innings at Comerica Park. Javier Baez doubled to deep left field in the bottom of the second to allow Wenceel Perez and Spencer Torkelson to score. Andy Ibanez then singled to shallow left to hand scores to Jake Rogers and Javier Baez. Torkelson hit the first homer of the game in the third and Detroit was firing.
The Blue Jays refused to go down easily. They were down 8-3 by the bottom of the fifth but fought back to lead 11-9 at the top of the eighth. Mark Canha tied the score with a two-run single before Matt Vierling’s second homer of the day allowed Detroit to snatch the victory at the bottom of the ninth. Carpenter and Torkelson scored to see the Motor City Kitties walk off as 14-11 victors after a scare, finishing the series 3-1.
Toronto and Detroit have performed poorly in the MLB this season, and both sit on losing records. The Jays sit bottom of the American League East with a 44-52 record. Just three teams in the American League have allowed more points than Toronto this season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been a bright spark. The first baseman leads Toronto’s scoring charts for runs, hits, doubles, and home runs. His 107 hits place him tenth overall in the MLB. The Jays most recently completed a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks with an 8-7 victory. However, they lost their previous two, including a humiliating 12-1 defeat in game two.
Detroit is second from bottom in the American League Central with a 47-50 record. They haven’t struggled to score runs and have notched a respectable 413 in 2024. While their form on the mound isn’t great, it is not derisory either, with 420 runs allowed. They have experienced a great run in form, winning eight of their last 10. Tarik Skubal has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball this season and is the favourite to win the AL Cy Young award.
Toronto Blue Jays vs Detroit Tigers Predictions
Correct score prediction: Toronto Blue Jays 3-5 Detroit Tigers
It is tough to separate these two sides. They have similar records and the Blue Jays’ home form is no better than the Tigers’ away record. However, Detroit is in its best form of the season and may have hit a purple patch at the perfect time. Our baseball prediction is for a 3-5 victory for the Tigers.
A.J. Hinch’s team has won eight games in 10 and is coming directly off an impressive 2-1 series victory over the high-flying Los Angeles Dodgers. They recorded back-to-back victories of 11-9 and 4-3. Toronto is a significantly weaker team than the Dodgers and that win can galvanise Detroit.
The Tigers have come out on top in their last three series. Those victories came against the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, and LA Dodgers. Their 8-2 streak began with a victory over the Minnesota Twins in early July. Three of those four teams have winning records. This run has nothing to do with luck and is ringing truer to the talent they boast.
Toronto had an impressive series triumph over the Seattle Mariners recently. They recorded back-to-back 5-4 victories at T-Mobile Park following a 2-1 defeat in the opener. The Mariners are top of the AL West and the Blue Jays’ victory on the road proved there is still more to come from John Schneider’s team.
SEA-RIES WIN!
FINAL: #BlueJays 5, Mariners 4 pic.twitter.com/U7xMWv0NyI
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 7, 2024
Detroit’s Tarik Skubal has established himself as arguably the best pitcher in the MLB in 2024. He has an earned run average of 2.41. Only the Atlanta Braves’ Reynaldo Lopez has a better average, having played three fewer games than Skubal. Batters are averaging just .190 hits against Skubal this season.
The Cy Young hopeful struck out a career-high 13 in seven innings against the Reds two weeks ago. None of those stats bode well for a team that has fewer than 400 runs scored this season. Skubal enters this game after being picked for the All-Star game and should be feared at the mound. He will be integral to a potential Detroit victory on Friday.
Toronto Blue Jays vs Detroit Tigers Betting Tips
The Toronto Blue Jays open as the moneyline favourites for this series opener, worth -120 They are 5-5 in their last 10 but have played on the road in the last three series. Toronto has the home-field advantage for the first time since early July. However, Detroit is experiencing its best run of the season and impressively so against >.500 teams. We like a bet on Toronto with our online sportsbook, worth +102.
However, you may not want to wager before the game with the odds likely to be tight. If not, you can take advantage of our live betting markets once the game has begun.
The Motor City Kitties are creeping up in the MLB betting markets. They still have a lot of work to do sitting on a sub-500 win percentage, but they are undoubtedly on an upward trend. Their pitchers have been strong this season and they will rely on them for success. Jack Flaherty will start for the Tigers against Toronto. His strikeouts line is set at 5.5 and we like a wager on the over at -125. He is averaging right around six strikeouts per game in 2024 and has hit the over on this line in three of his last four games.
The over/under for this game is set at 7.5. The over has hit on this line in four of the Tigers last six games. For the Blue Jays, the over has hit in all of their last five games. These two sides last met in a four-game series in May and three of those four games saw the score hit over 7.5. We are taking the over here, worth -111 with our online sportsbook.
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Toronto Blue Jays Team News
Coach Schneider has said Bo Bichette is in the batting cages and “feeling better” following his calf strain. However, Friday is likely too soon for a return. Isiah Kiner-Falefa sprained his left knee at the start of July. He is back in training but is not expected to return until early August.
Alek Manoah underwent successful UCL surgery but is not expected back for the remainder of the season, nor is Brandon Barriera with a similar injury. Yimi Garcia is in line for a return from the injured list after a sore elbow kept him out for two weeks.
Detroit Tigers Team News
Mark Canha and Javier Baez left the game on Saturday with respective injuries to their wrist and lower back. The hope is that the All-Star break will give them both enough rest for a return on Friday. Parker Meadows is rehabbing from a hamstring strain and will not return in time for the first game of the series. Casey Mise is rehabbing a similar injury and both players could make appearances later in the series.
Kerry Carpenter will rehab his lower spine stress fracture throughout the trip and will not appear. They transferred Sawyer Gipson-Long to the 60-day injured list last week after his hip surgery to open up a roster spot, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
