Categories
MLB

Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays MLB Preview & Free Pick

Texas vs Toronto MLB Betting Preview

The Blue Jays have won 2 straight and they have a solid offense ranking 7th in the league in runs scored.

Venue/ Stadium: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Time/Date: 7 PM EST Monday, April 130, 2012
NCAA Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: Rangers -150 / Blue Jays +135
Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Matchup | Preview

Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays Preview

Their pitching has been mediocre this season and that is a concern facing a Rangers’ offense that has scored the most runs in the Majors and has the highest team batting average.

MLB lines have the Rangers as the away favorite in this game with a total of 8.5 runs.

In their last games the Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners 7-2 while the Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2.

This season the Rangers have an O/U record of 6-14 and a run-line W/L record of 13-9 and the Blue Jays have an O/U record of 12-9 and a W/L run-line record of 12-10.

Josh Hamilton, who leads the AL in HR and RBI and ranks 2nd in batting average, may sit out tonight, as he left yesterday’s game in the 2nd inning with a stiff back. The Blue Jays will breath a sigh of relief if he is not in the lineup.

Yu Darvish (3-0, 2.42 ERA) has lived up to all the hype at least so far this season and in his last start he was stellar going 8 innings not giving up any runs in a win over the Yankees. Kyle Drabek (2-1, 2.25 ERA) takes the hill for the Blue Jays and in his last outing was solid only giving up 2 earned runs in 6 innings, but got no run support in a loss to the Orioles. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]

This will be Darvish’s first career start against Toronto. Drabek won his only previous meeting with Texas in a 6-4 win last season.

Michael Young is hitting .329 and 5 other players besides Hamilton has at least 10 RBI. Even without Hamilton in the lineup Drabek really has his work cut out for him tonight.

The one player Darvish has to worry about is Edwin Encarnacion, who is batting .310 and ranks 3rd in the AL in both HR and RBI. He is the big gun for Toronto, but Brett Lawrie is having a solid season at the plate and 5 everyday players have at least 10 RBI.

The Blue Jays have won 9 of their last 12 games facing the Rangers in Toronto.

In some betting trends for this American League match up the Rangers are 5-1 in their last 6 road games vs. a right-handed starter, 4-0 in Darvish’s last 4 starts, and they have an Under record of 3-1-1 in their last 5 games.

The Blue Jays are 4-1 in their last 5 games following a win, 2-5 in Drabek’s last 7 starts vs. a team with a winning record, and they have an Under record of 5-2-1 in their last 8 games.

Jason’s Pick: Even without Hamilton I have to go with the Rangers, as I think Darvish will have another solid outing.

**CLICK HERE TO GRAB OUR BEST Picks Packages for 2012 MLB Betting!**

By Jason Green

Jason Green is back with Cappers Picks again to give out his free sports plays. As always he's hoping the Braves and Redskins can win a championship since their last one in the 90’s was long ago. He’s starting to know the pain of Cubs fans.