by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Aug 20, 2021
Game time: 3:07 p.m. ET
Venue: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON
Where to watch: Bally Sports Detroit, SNET
Season-to-date
Tigers: 59-65 (3rd place, AL Central)
Blue Jays: 63-57 (4th place, AL East)
Recent form
Tigers: 5-5 in last 10
Blue Jays: 3-7 in last 10, lost three straight
Projected lineup
Tigers:
Robbie Grossman (S) RF
Jonathan Schoop (R) 2B
Jeimer Candelario (S) 3B
Miguel Cabrera (R) DH
Renato Nunez (R) 1B
Willi Castro (S) LF
Daz Cameron (R) CF
Zack Short (R) SS
Grayson Greiner (R) C
Blue Jays:
Bo Bichette (R) SS
Marcus Semien (R) 2B
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
Teoscar Hernandez (R) RF
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (R) LF
Alejandro Kirk (R) C
Randal Grichuk (R) CF
Kevin Smith (R) DH
Santiago Espinal (R) 3B
Probable starting pitchers: Wily Peralta (DET) vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu (TOR)
Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Blue Jays -290, Tigers +230
BetMGM: Blue Jays -250, Tigers +200
FanDuel: Blue Jays -290, Tigers +235
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Tigers - Blue Jays preview
The Toronto Blue Jays hope Robbie Ray’s start on Friday will carry them to more success Saturday as they continue their three-game series with the Detroit Tigers in Toronto.
Ray, the 29-year-old left-hander who continues to have the best season of his career, went eight innings and had 11 strikeouts in the series opener on Friday at Rogers Centre.
Unfortunately, that led to a no decision for Ray, as the tired pitcher threw a ball inbetween catcher Alejandro Kirk’s legs that allowed the tying run in the eighth inning.
It was another instance where the Blue Jays haven’t been able to find offense. Outside of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s home run and the lone RBI on Friday, Toronto’s bats were silenced yet again after a rather rough road trip. That long road trip was capped off by a two-game sweep from the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays had only five hits through nine innings. They are showing the effects of not having George Springer (sprained knee) available at the top of the lineup. We know it would be bad, but we didn’t think it would be this bad to waste an outing such as Ray’s.
The Tigers showed resilience after squandering a three-game sweep at the hands of the LA Angels at home, particularly the 10-2 blown lead on Thursday that saw the Angels pull off one of the best comebacks of the season.
There’s just a lot to process when it comes to the Blue Jays. The pitching staff has not been good enough for those to take Toronto seriously in the betting market. It was just a few weeks ago that they were charging the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in the standings. Now, they’re just trying to have a respectable end to the season.
Instead, losing 4-1 has brought the Blue Jays to the road underdog Tigers has made home games even impossible, especially when Toronto relievers implode the way they did in the 10th inning. Going from a winning record to a horrible last few weeks in a losing record quickly is absurd. Now, the Tigers have a chance to win some road games.
Someone get Miguel Cabrera home run No. 500 while we’re at it. Maybe add some base runners, too.
Betting trends
For teams Ryu starts for, teams who are a favorite of -200 or more are 13-0 in the past three seasons. At home, teams are 11-0 when Ryu is on the mound.
Prediction
We can take a break from believing in the Blue Jays. Nothing is happening with this. Tigers win 7-4.
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
