Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction, Odds and Preview - 08/08/2021

Game Time: 1:07 pm ET, Sunday, August 8th, 2021

Venue:  Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Where to Watch:  NESN, SNET, SNET1, TVA Sports

Red Sox: 64-47 (2nd place American League East)

Blue Jays: 58-49 (4th place, American League East)

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds: Red Sox +170; Blue Jays -200,  Over/Under: 10 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds: Red Sox +170; Blue Jays -200,  Over/Under: 10 runs

Red Sox:  J Duran (illness) Out,  D Santana (Groin) Out, C Arroyo (Hamstring) Out

Blue Jays: C Baggio (back) Out, J Soria (undisclosed) Out, J Merryweather (back) Out

E. Hernandez, CF

A. Verdugo, LF

X. Bogaerts, SS

R. Devers, 3B

H. Renfroe, RF

K. Plawecki, C

C. Vazquez, DH

B. Dalbec, 1B

J. Arauz, 2B

G. Springer, CF

V. Guerrero Jr., DH

M. Semien, 2B

B. Bichette, SS

T. Hernandez, RF

C. Dickerson, LF

A. Kirk, C

L. Gurriel Jr., 1B

S. Espinal, 3B

Red Sox:

Batting Average: Xander Bogaerts (.305)

Hits:  Xander Bogaets (115)

Home Runs: Rafael Devers (27)

RBI: Rafael Devers (82)

Stolen Bases:  Christian Vazquez (8)

Wins: Nathan Evoldi (9)

Saves: Matt Barnes (24)

ERA:  Matt Barnes (.225)

Blue Jays:

Batting Average:  Vlad Guerrero Jr (.319)

Hits: Bo Bichette (127)

Home Runs:  Vlad Guerrero Jr (34)

RBI: Vlad Guerrero Jr (85)

Stolen Bases:  Bo Bichette (17)

Wins: Hyun Jin Ryu (11)

Saves: Jordan Romano (9)

ERA:  Robbie Ray (3.04)

Managers:

Red Sox:  Alex “Happy to be back with the team” Cora 

Blue Jays:  Jose Diaz

Boston is 2-8 over their last ten games.  They are in second place in the AL East but aren’t even playing like a team with a winning record. They got swept in a three-game series by the Tampa Bay Rays, which is why they find themselves 3 games back and clinging to a 4 game lead over the New York Yankees. Is the starting rotation off?  Does it matter whether it’s Saturday night at Fenway Park or Monday night on the road or if the opponents are the sputtering Detroit Tigers or surging Tampa Bay Rays?

Toronto Is 9-1 over their last ten games.  A hot streak for the AL East team from Canada. They swept the Kansas City Royals. They went 3 of 4 against the Cleveland Indians. The other three wins all from the Red Sox. The last start against the Red Sox they bombed for 12 runs, wasn’t even a contest.  They don’t have a shot at the Division Lead (The Rays look good there), or even a wild card spot, but they could displace the Yankees with continued hot play. The Blue Jays odds are usually not great, but this is a right place right time match-up. 

The Red Sox are 9-7 against the Blue Jays this year, but the Blue Jays absolutely shelled the Sox during the last two 12-4, 13-1.  The Blue Jays have that type of potent offense that though they aren’t always winning they can put up runs in a hurry.  Valdemir Guerrero, Rafael Devers, and Bo Bichette can combine to get the Blue Jays offense scoring. 

The Red Sox are 4th in batting average (.256), 10th in home runs (140), and 7th in runs scored.  All around a solid team that can score.  Red Sox pitchers are 15th in ERA 4.28, 25th in whip 1.39, 6th in home runs given up.  

The Blue Jays are 1st in batting average (.266), tied for 1st in home runs (165), and most importantly 3rd in runs scored (behind Astros and Dodgers).  The bats are hot.  Pitching is why they aren’t contending meaningfully.  They are 12th in ERA, 12th in whip, 20th in home runs given up (141).  They aren’t elite because the pitchers aren’t pulling the weight of the batters. 

Will Rogers is an experienced and sharp handicapper.  Get Will’s picks and best bets at our Shop Picks page, where you can find all of today's entire Major League Baseball premium pick predictions.  Don’t miss out on having all the information!

The Red Sox will start right-hander Garret Richards who is 6-7, 2.57 ERA, 85 strikeouts.  That is all he is... the starting pitcher.  The bullpen will warm up and empty out and hopefully for Boston’s sake the Red Sox lineup will give lots of run support.  I put money on sports I didn’t really understand during the Olympics in Tokyo, but I won’t put money on Garret Richards.

The Blue Jays will start Lefty Hyun Jin Ryu, 11-5, 3.22 ERA, 102 strikeouts.  He is a star.  Not the biggest star but certainly Toronto’s best.

Blue Jays: Toronto is 9-1 on the moneyline over their last ten games.  They logged 6 Unders, 3 Overs, and 1 Push.

Red Sox: Boston is 2-8 on the moneyline over their last ten games.  They logged 6 Unders and 4 Overs.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert baseball picks today.  Get off to a hot start this week, and get all of the daily expert picks on tonight's slate of MLB games.  And if you enjoyed this Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily MLB projections and previews.