MLB Betting – Blue Jays vs Red Sox Preview & Pick
The Toronto Blue Jays deserve credit for somehow staying above .500 this season despite sharing a division with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays.
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MLB Betting – Blue Jays vs Red Sox Preview & Pick
Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Venue: Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Broadcast: RSN, NESN
Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox Betting Lines from BetOnline.com
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Toronto Blue Jays (74-73 through September 12)
Ricky Romero (14-10, 3.01)
They remind me of the pre-breakout Rays, loaded with high draft picks and blue-chip prospects.
One of those former high picks is Ricky Romero, who has blossomed into a No. 1 Starter and All-Star this season. Opponents are batting just .217 off him this season. It does, however, appear that Romero is tiring. He’s allowed at least three runs and walked at least three batters in four straight starts.
Romero also has a brutal track record against Boston. He’s 3-6 with a 7.63 ERA and nine homers allowed over 12 career starts versus the Red Sox. He’ll need some run support on Wednesday.
The way the Jays have swung the bats lately, he might get it. Jose Bautista has obviously duplicated his magic this year but the hottest recent story out of Toronto is the play of Canadian rookie Brett Lawrie. Batting .312 with nine homers, 23 RBI, six steals and an OPS well over 1.000 through 36 games, he’s been the team’s best hitter since he got called up. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Boston Red Sox (85-61 through September 12)
John Lackey (12-12, 6.30)
When will the bleeding stop in Boston? The losing streak sat at five games through Monday night and, after getting swept by the Rays over the weekend, the Red Sox have made the Wild Card race interesting.
How confident can they feel sending John Lackey to the hill on Wednesday? He’s lost three straight starts and allowed five or more runs in each of those outings. The last time he faced the Jays, they rocked him for 7 runs in 2.1 innings. Yikes.
MLB Trends
Over is 15-5-1 in TOR last 21 overall.
TOR are 9-1 in Romeros last 10 starts.
Under is 5-2-2 in Romeros last 9 road starts.
Over is 7-2 in Lackeys last 9 starts on grass.
Over is 8-3 in Lackeys last 11 starts overall.
TOR are 3-9 in Romeros last 12 starts vs. BOS.
Over is 6-2 in Romeros last 8 starts vs. BOS.
MLB Free pick:
It certainly looks like Thursday’s game will be high-scoring. I wanted to pick the Red Sox given that they have to break their slump sooner or later and that they own Romero. But Lackey is just so…darned…bad. He has a 6.35 ERA at home this season. I can’t see Boston winning with him pitching the way he is. I’ll wager on the better overall pitcher: Romero.
Blue Jays vs Red Sox prediction: Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 5
