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Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees Preview
The New York Yankees will have every reason to be thrilled with their opening results as Major League Baseball returns. New York is 6-1 after seven games, while their upcoming opponents have a negative record. The Toronto Blue Jays must improve when they travel to the Yankee Stadium on Friday. The first pitch is at 1:05 PM ET, starting a three-game series between the sides.
The Blue Jays have won three of their seven games but suffered an embarrassing defeat against the Houston Astros. Toronto lost 8-0 against the Astros and was down by four after the first five innings. The Yankees swept Houston in their opening series, posting 21 runs across four games. In their most recent contest, New York beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5, but can they get back-to-back wins against Toronto?
Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees Head-to-Head and Key Stats
At the tail-end of last season, Toronto hosted a series against the New York Yankees. The series opener wasn’t entertaining, but the Yankees won the contest. In the ninth, New York finally got the first run and scored twice during the inning. The Blue Jays didn’t score and lost 2-0 in the opening contest.
However, the latest regular-season meeting between the two sides was more exciting. Toronto was the better team throughout the game and opened the scoring in the third inning via Daulton Varsho. At the bottom of the third, Varsho smashed Luke Weaver’s pitch into the stands and got the opening homer. Matt Chapman doubled Toronto’s lead in the fourth. In the fifth, Cavan Biggio fired a single down the center, allowing Bo Bichette to get home for the Blue Jays’ third run of the game. The bottom of the sixth provided three runs for Toronto. Brandon Belt’s home run got Varsho and George Springer across home plate, giving Toronto a 6-0 win in front of their fans.
The second game of the series also had six runs, but the Yankees went home with the victory. The first three innings supplied no runs. Aaron Judge hit a homer in the top of the fourth, getting DJ LeMahieu home and handing New York a 2-0 lead. The fifth inning also gave the Yankees fans something to cheer. Giancarlo Stanton stepped up to bat with the bases loaded and hit a left-field single, getting two RBIs thanks to Judge and Ben Rortvedt. Stanton could’ve had a third, but Gleyber Torres didn’t make it home. Oswald Peraza walked in the seventh, and Judge got his second home run of the contest to give the Yankees a 6-0 lead. Those were the last runs in this game, and New York walked away with a goose egg victory.
The MLB season has just started, meaning we haven’t seen the full potential of both sides. However, New York is undoubtedly the better team when looking at their recent contests. The Yankees have a 6-1 record so far this season and will play at home for the first time on Friday. Toronto is 3-4, getting two wins over the Tampa Bay Rays in a four-game series. New York has scored ten more runs than Toronto. The Blue Jays registered 22 runs in their first seven games. However, the Yankees have conceded fewer, allowing 25 runs against them. Toronto conceded 36 runs in their opening games, including heavy losses when facing the Houston Astros.
Justin Turner is one of the Toronto Blue Jays’ biggest batting threats. Across six games, Turner has stepped up to bat 22 times. The third baseman posted seven hits and one homer. Turner also has four RBIs and an on-base percentage of .423, higher than his MLB career average of .364. Oswaldo Cabrera is on a hot streak for New York, and his numbers suggest he’ll be worth monitoring when betting on the Yankees. Cabrera has nine hits from 26 at-bats, with a staggering seven RBIs across seven contests. The Venezuelan has nearly doubled his 2023 OBP, posting an on-base percentage of .393 this season.
Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees Predictions
Correct Score Prediction: New York Yankees 7-3 win over Toronto Blue Jays
We predict the New York Yankees will beat the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. We expect over 9.5 runs. Our correct score prediction is a Yankees 7-3 win over the Blue Jays. However, we predict the first inning will finish 0-0. George Springer and Aaron Judge will both get home runs.
The Toronto Blue Jays haven’t started their MLB season in the best way possible, but when they travel to New York, they’ll aim to end the Yankees hype train. However, we can’t see the Blue Jays having much success and predict New York will beat Toronto. The Yankees are playing at home for the first time, and after such a great start to the campaign, they won’t let the Blue Jays spoil the party.
We expect an entertaining contest, with both teams scoring early. The New Yorkers have their home support to cheer them on, and we predict they’ll deliver seven runs for their fans. Our correct score prediction is for the Yankees to win 7-3 over the Blue Jays. Four out of Toronto’s previous six games posted over 9.5 runs. None of the Yankees contests had ten or more runs, but with the Blue Jays giving away runs this season, we don’t expect them to struggle this week.
We predict the first inning will end 0-0, but expect the second to post over 1.5 runs. Toronto scored twice in the second during their 9-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. In their latest contest, the Yankees also posted twice in the second when beating the Arizona Diamondbacks. Toronto hasn’t made a habit of scoring in the first inning, and New York is yet to score in the opener. Novibet lets you wager on the highest-scoring inning when betting on the MLB. The fifth inning is Toronto’s highest scoring in two games this season, and we predict the fifth will post the most runs in this contest.
George Springer has two homers in this campaign, and we believe he’ll add another against the Yankees. Despite registering just three hits from 25 at-bats, Springer hit two home runs during the Blue Jays’ four-game series against the Rays. Aaron Judge opened his dinger account last time out. We predict Judge will get his second homer of the season against Toronto. Using our sportsbook, you can place player prop bets for home runs, strikeouts, bases, and hits.
Cash Cab 🤯 pic.twitter.com/u1AefKCO7v
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 31, 2024
Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees Betting Picks
The New York Yankees are one of the strongest teams in the MLB this season, and they’ll be confident of getting another win against the Toronto Blue Jays. Our sportsbook favors New York at -159, and we prefer the Yankees on Friday. Toronto will make the contest engaging, but our moneyline pick is New York. However, the moneyline rarely offers the best returns when betting on baseball, meaning we can find better wagers on alternative markets.
If you’re a Blue Jays fan, using the spread is a great idea when looking for winning wagers. The spread bet adds or subtracts runs, making a game more competitive when betting on an underdog. Wagering on Toronto +4.5 returns a $1.18 profit from a $10 bet if our correct score prediction is accurate. The spread is the best way to bet on Toronto in this contest.
You don’t have to predict a winner to land a profitable wager. Novibet has the total runs market, which lets you bet on over or under a certain number of runs. We predict the game will have over 9.5 runs, but this market is excellent for live betting. Analyzing the teams during the contest gives you better insight into the chance of a high-scoring game. That means you can sometimes find increased value when using the live markets. The “race to runs” market is unique to baseball but is akin to the points race when placing basketball wagers. This market allows you to predict which team will get three runs first. We suggest picking the Yankees, as we forecast that the Blue Jays will get only three runs.
We mentioned player prop wagers in our predictions, but a brilliant way to use a welcome bonus this week is on the over/under prop for bases. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is our pick for the Toronto Blue Jays. The first baseman has an OBP of .385 and a slugging percentage of .381, meaning he’s a fantastic choice for over 0.5 bases. When betting on the Yankees, Anthony Volpe is our pick. Volpe has a OBP of .619 and an impressive .882 SLG. Juan Soto is the closest New Yorker to Volpe’s on-base percentage, with an OBP of .517. We believe Volpe will get on base over 0.5 times against Toronto.
UPDATE: SS Bo Bichette was removed from today's lineup with neck spasms. pic.twitter.com/M01DXMjYzl
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 31, 2024
Toronto Blue Jays Team News
The Toronto Blue Jays are missing two relief pitchers. Erik Swanson is recovering from a forearm injury and won’t play against the Yankees. The other relief pitcher, Jordan Romano, will remain sidelined this week. However, Trent Palmer and Bo Bichette could return before Friday. Palmer is a Double-A pitcher, so his return won’t affect the Blue Jays lineup against New York. But Bichette has 16 at-bats in the MLB this season. During these at-bats, Bichette has posted three hits and one run, with an OBP of .235. If Bichette has a clean bill of health after his recent appearance, we expect him to play.
The Blue Jays successfully appealed Genesis Cabrera’s three-game suspension, which was reduced to two contests. Cabrera is now available for Toronto. The pitcher missed two games against the Houston Astros but his return gives the Blue Jays a much-needed boost against the New York Yankees.
New York Yankees Team News
The New York Yankees are unlikely to see any players return. Tommy Kahnle’s recovery suffered a setback this week. The relief pitcher is battling a shoulder injury, and his rehabilitation is taking longer than expected. Kahnle could resume his season next week at the earliest. New York picked McKinley Moore off waivers in March, but the relief pitcher is out for at least two weeks.
Jake Cousins has replaced Tanner Tully, with Tully designated for assignment two days after moving to the big leagues. The Yankees gave Cousins a major league contract, and the right-handed pitcher is available for selection. Tully could become a free agent soon, but the likelihood of the pitcher playing in the MLB looks slim.
