MLB Predictions: Indians vs Blue Jays Lines
The Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians will close out their three game set at the Rogers Centre with a rubber match on Thursday. The Indians have seen their bats come alive north of the border, while the Blue Jays continue to be hit or miss as their roller coaster season continues.
Cleveland Indians (19-21) at Toronto Blue Jays (20-21)
Date: Thursday, May 15, 2014
Time: 7:07 PM ET
Venue: Rogers Centre
In Canada? Try Pinnacle
City: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
O/U Odds: 9.5
Money Line: Toronto -112, Cleveland +103
Pitching Matchup: RH Danny Salazar (1-3, 5.65 ERA) at LH J.A. Happ (1-1, 4.63 ERA)
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The Indians will send out Danny Salazar for the third game in this series. He entered this season with a lot of promise, but hasn’t had much success thus far. Through seven starts, the right has compiled a 5.65 ERA and 1.61 WHIP while allowing opposing batters to hit for a .301 clip against him.
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Salazar looked to turn a corner on April 27 in San Francisco, throwing seven strong innings of one-run ball against the Giants, allowing five hits and striking out eight, but he hasn’t been great in his two starts since.
Salazar is coming off back-to-back shaky outings at home, allowing five runs, three of them earned, over five innings against the White Sox, followed by an outing against the Twins in which he lasted 6 1/3, surrendering three runs.
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The lone strong point for Salazar has been his strikeout total, which has been consistently high. He’s struck out 44 batters in 36 2/3 innings thus far. That speaks to his stuff, as he’s able to make guys miss, but he’s also walked 15 batters, and by consistently getting deep into counts, he’s been forced to leave games early.
Salazar made a start against the Blue Jays last season, allowing just one run on two hits over six innings, earning the win and striking out seven along the way.
The Blue Jays counter with J.A. Happ. There was some question as to whether Happ would even get this start, but injuries have the team looking anywhere they can for innings.
Happ was able to escape some trouble in his first start against the Phillies. He allowed seven baserunners in that outing, but got out of jams when he needed to, escaping with five shutout innings in the win.
His second start didn’t go quite so well. He allowed four runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings pitched against the Angels. Happ was one of the Blue Jays’ best starting pitchers in Spring Training in 2013, earning himself a spot in the starting rotation, but he hasn’t met that level since, and an Indians team that has been better against southpaws could pose some problems for him.
Runs haven’t been hard to come by in the first couple meetings between these teams. Happ hasn’t exactly been a world-beater, and Salazar has proven to be very hittable. In a hitter-friendly ballpark, this one could produce some fireworks.
The play: Over 9.5
