Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/01/2023

Game Time: 3:07 pm ET, Saturday, July 1, 2023

Venue:  Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON

Where to Watch:  SNET

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Red Sox +125, Blue Jays -145; Over/Under:  9 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Red Sox +125, Blue Jays -145; Over/Under:  9 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Red Sox +125, Blue Jays -145; Over/Under:  9 runs

Boston Red Sox:  40-42 (5th place, AL East)

Toronto Blue Jays:  45-37 (4th place, AL East)

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Boston Red Sox:  3-7 last 10

Toronto Blue Jays:  6-4 last 10

The Red Sox are entering this series on a 5 game losing streak and got swept 3-0 in their 3-game series against the Miami Marlins in their last series. They enter this game with a 40-42 record overall and have a road record of 19-21. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Blue Jays on Saturday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 8th in the MLB with a .748 OPS. James Paxton is their starting pitcher on Friday while Kutter Crawford is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 2-4 with a 4.01 ERA this season. His team lost 5 of their last 6 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 4 ER, 2 HR, and 1 BB with 4 Ks on 5 hits through 6 IP against the Chicago White Sox.

The Blue Jays are entering this series on a 2 game winning streak and won their 3-game series against the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 45-37 record overall and have a home record of 23-15. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Red Sox on Saturday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 7th in the MLB with a .749 OPS. José Berríos is their starting pitcher on Friday while Yusei Kikuchi is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 7-2 with a 3.75 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 earned run, 1 homer, and 2 BB with 8 strikeouts on 2 hits through 7 innings played against the Oakland A’s.

The current betting odds have the Blue Jays listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Blue Jays are only in 4th place of the AL East as they still have a mountain to climb to get to the playoffs, but they still have a winning record and one of the best offenses in the league too. They have also been a better home team this season and they will be able to take advantage of the scoring opportunities they get in this game since the Red Sox pitching has been so bad this season. The Red Sox haven't been good this year as they are at the bottom of the AL East with the only losing record in the division and they have been giving up a ton of runs all year. The only saving grace they had is that their offense has been really good, but they have cooled off lately and are not putting up a ton of runs in their games. Kikuchi is also on the mound for the Blue Jays and he has been one of their best starters all season as he has made some major improvements from last season and has worked hard to give up a lot less runs in his starts this year. The Red Sox have Crawford starting though and he hasn't been great this season as he has been giving up a lot of runs in his starts. His performance along with the Red Sox bullpen will be enough for this Blue Jays offense to explode and the Red Sox will have a tough time coming back with Kikuchi pitching so well lately. The best way to place a bet here is on the Blue Jays to win this game.

Red Sox Blue Jays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, July 1, 2023 (3:07 pm ET start time) is Blue Jays 7 Red Sox 2.

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Boston Red Sox: 21-14 (+5.1 units) on the moneyline when the total is 9 to 9.5. 13-11 (+4.1 units) on the moneyline against division opponents. 7-3 UNDER on the road when the total is 9 to 9.5. 

Toronto Blue Jays: 31-25 (-7.4 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -110 or higher. 7-17 (-15.4 units) on the moneyline against division opponents. 9-5 UNDER at home with a money line of -100 to -150. 22-13 UNDER in home games.

Boston Red Sox:  J. Paxton (SP) Prob Fri - Knee. P. Reyes (3B) Out indefinitely - Abdominal. J. Schreiber (RP) Early July - Back. R. McGuire (C) Mid July - Oblique. Y. Chang (3B) Out indefinitely - Wrist. J. Rodriguez (RP) Early July - Shoulder. C. Kluber (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. T. Houck (SP) Out indefinitely - Face. W. Mills (RP) Out indefinitely - Elbow. C. Sale (SP) Early Aug - Shoulder. T. Story (2B) Late July - Elbow. R. Bleier (RP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. Z. Kelly (RP) Early Sept - Elbow. A. Mondesi (SS) Out indefinitely - Knee.

Toronto Blue Jays:  K. Kiermaier (CF) Ques Fri - Back. T. Heineman (C) Ques Thurs - Upper Body. A. Cimber (RP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. Z. Pop (RP) Early July - Hamstring. C. Green (RP) Mid July - Elbow. H. Ryu (SP) Mid July - Elbow.

“There’s days you’re going to score runs. There’s days you’re going to give it up. And today we pitched well; we didn’t hit.” - Alex Cora after his team’s loss against the Marlins in their game on Thursday.

“I’ve said it forever, he’s as dangerous as anyone.” - John Schneider on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after his team’s win against the Giants in their game on Thursday.

Alex Verdugo (L) RF

Justin Turner (R) 1B

Rob Refsnyder (R) LF

Rafael Devers (L) 3B

Adam Duvall (R) CF

Masataka Yoshida (L) DH

Christian Arroyo (R) 2B

Enrique Hernandez (R) SS

Connor Wong (R) C

George Springer (R) RF

Bo Bichette (R) SS

Brandon Belt (L) 1B

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) DH

Matt Chapman (R) 3B

Daulton Varsho (L) CF

Whit Merrifield (R) LF

Alejandro Kirk (R) C

Santiago Espinal (R) 2B

Batting Average:  Pablo Reyes (.303)

Hits:  Alex Verdugo (89)

Home Runs:  Rafael Devers (19)

RBI:  Rafael Devers (61)

Stolen Bases:  Jarren Duran (15)

Wins:  Chris Sale (5)

Saves:  Kenley Jansen (16)

ERA:  Chris Murphy (1.80)

Batting Average:  Ernie Clement (.429)

Hits:  Bo Bichette (110)

Home Runs:  Bo Bichette (14)

RBI:  Vladimir Guerrero (51)

Stolen Bases:  Whit Merrifield (18)

Wins:  Jose Berrios (8)

Saves:  Jordan Romano (24)

ERA:  Thomas Hatch (0.00)

Managers:

Boston Red Sox: Alex Cora (5th season, 3rd consecutive)

Toronto Blue Jays: John Schneider (2nd season)