by Chuck Sommers
Saturday, May 07, 2022
Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
Venue: Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH
Where to watch: SNET, Bally Sports Great Lakes
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
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BetMGM: Check back later
Caesars: Check back later
Season record
Blue Jays: 16-11
Guardians: 12-13
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Blue Jays - Guardians preview and analysis
I’m singing in the rain … I’m singing in the rain.
All the rain, all the downpour, all the everything that forced six games to move toward a doubleheader on this day, and that includes the Toronto Blue Jays taking on the Cleveland Guardians to continue a four-game series with a two-gamer on Saturday.
The first game takes place with the sun up in Cleveland, and the Blue Jays will be looking for some sort of revenge after losing the opener 6-5 in Thursday. Steven Kwan, who got off to a ridiculous start this year, hit the first homer of his MLB career to offset a two-run homer from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the first.
Cleveland jumped out to a 6-2 and Toronto jumped back to cut it to 1, but they just couldn’t cross the finish line for such a comeback.
“This whole thing is crazy, it’s been a month of pure ecstasy for me,” said Kwan, who is fifth in the American League with a .328 average. “I never try to hit homers, so it’s super special again. I’m going to get this ball decorated. That’ll be pretty cool.”
There’s not much to be excited about with the Guardians right now outside of Jose Ramirez and Kwan. The pitching is still not there yet, outside of Shane Bieber, and they’re going to need someone like a Triston McKenzie going forward, but the future does look bright with Kwan hitting the hell out of baseballs like he has.
But credit to Cleveland for quieting the Toronto bats a little bit to get that win. The Blue Jays got five runs on nine hits, but there was nothing else to that other than bookending that game. Trying to solve Aaron Civale was hard to do with the Cleveland starter striking out eight, but Jose Berrios got rocked in a rare game, giving up six runs on 4.2 innings.
“José was fine, he didn’t get hit that hard off the bat,” Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said. “I think a lot of it was Cleveland having seen him so much. You’ve got to give them credit for slapping the ball to left.”
The Blue Jays can rebound with Kevin Gausman taking the bump in this one. The prized free-agent acquisition is off to a strong start, and he’ll need to have a strong start after Berrios had a rough start.
“It was a challenge for myself,” Berríos said of the conditions, which he said also led to his velocity ticking down as the game went on. "But we have to go out there and play, compete, and that’s what I did. I tried to do my best to get through that inning, but I wasn’t able to make that happen.”
Prediction
I would not be shocked if the Guardians took the second game of this double header, but I am of the mindset that I will not be going against Gausman in this one. He’ll be throwing a gem and everything will fall into place. Blue Jays win 6-1
Betting trends
Blue Jays are 14-9 against right-handed starters this season.
Blue Jays are 6-1 this season after losing two of three.
Guardians are 51-45 the past three seasons after winning two of three.
Projected lineup
Blue Jays:
Raimel Tapia (L) RF
Bo Bichette (R) SS
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (R) LF
Matt Chapman (R) 3B
Zack Collins (L) DH
Santiago Espinal (R) 2B
Alejandro Kirk (R) C
Bradley Zimmer (L) CF
SP - Kevin Gausman
Raimel Tapia (L) RF
Bo Bichette (R) SS
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (R) LF
Matt Chapman (R) 3B
Zack Collins (L) DH
Santiago Espinal (R) 2B
Alejandro Kirk (R) C
Bradley Zimmer (L) CF
SP - Kevin Gausman
Guardians:
Myles Straw (R) CF
Steven Kwan (L) RF
Jose Ramirez (S) 3B
Josh Naylor (L) 1B
Franmil Reyes (R) DH
Andres Gimenez (L) 2B
Amed Rosario (R) SS
Richie Palacios (L) LF
Austin Hedges (R) C
SP - Shane Bieber
Myles Straw (R) CF
Steven Kwan (L) RF
Jose Ramirez (S) 3B
Josh Naylor (L) 1B
Franmil Reyes (R) DH
Andres Gimenez (L) 2B
Amed Rosario (R) SS
Richie Palacios (L) LF
Austin Hedges (R) C
SP - Shane Bieber
Statistical leaders
Blue Jays:
Batting average: Vladimir Guerrero -- .290
Hits: Vladimir Guerrero -- 27
Home runs: Vladimir Guerrero -- 7
RBI: Vladimir Guerrero -- 19
Wins: Two tied -- 4
Saves: Jordan Romano -- 12
ERA: Alex Manoah -- 1.45
Guardians:
Batting average: Steven Kwan -- .328
Hits: Jose Ramirez -- 29
Home runs: Jose Ramirez -- 7
RBI: Jose Ramirez -- 29
Wins: Two tied -- 2
Saves: Emmanuel Clase -- 5
ERA: Shane Bieber -- 2.45
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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.
