Friday MLB Baseball Picks: Rays vs Blue Jays
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MLB Betting – Rays vs Blue Jays Preview & Pick
Date: April 23, 2011
Venue: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON
Broadcast: SUN, RSN
Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays Betting Lines from Betus.com
Money Line: Tampa Bay -105
Over/Under: 7.5
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Tampa Bay Rays (9-10 through April 21)
David Price (2-2, 2.83)
Their records look almost identical but the Rays and Jays are two teams going in opposite directions as they butt heads at Rogers Centre on Saturday afternoon. The Rays had won eight of 10 through Thursday’s action. The man leading the charge, strange as it may seem, is Sam Fuld. The former bench player is batting .348 with seven RBI and seven stolen bases.
The Rays have also gotten some solid pitching – and it’s no surprise that David Price is one of the guys chipping in. Last year’s American League Cy Young runner up has gotten better with each start, allowing four, three, two and zero runs. He whiffed nine White Sox in his eight innings of shutout ball on April 18.
Price is a bona fide Blue Jay murderer. His career numbers against them are staggering: 6-0, 1.93 ERA over seven starts. 
Toronto Blue Jays (8-10 through April 21)
Brandon Morrow (no record)
After a 4-1 start, the Toronto Blue Jays and their fans have to be awfully disappointed with the 4-9 run to follow. It’s tough to put a finger on exactly what’s wrong, as they’ve gotten great efforts from Yunel Escobar and Jose Bautista on offense and respectable contributions from Ricky Romero and Kyle Drabek on the mound. One problem could be a lack of identity under new manager John Farrell. These guys led the majors in homers by a mile last year; this season, they’re 19th in longballs yet have jumped to third in stolen bases.
Maybe Brandon Morrow’s return from injury will give the Jays a shot in the arm. The power pitcher showed real promise last season, striking out 178 batters in 146.1 innings. He’s 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA against Tampa in his career. The last time Morrow faced the Rays, he threw a one-hit shutout with 17 strikeouts.
MLB Trends:
Under is 12-2 in TB last 14 on astroturf.
TB are 8-2 in their last 10 overall.
Under is 9-3 in TB last 12 road games.
Under is 11-3 in TOR last 14 on astroturf.
TOR are 11-4 in their last 15 home games.
Over is 8-3-1 in TOR last 12 Sat. games.
The pick:
Morrow will almost certainly help the Jays this season – but it’s a lot to ask to expect him to outduel Price in his first game back. He’ll probably have an innings limit and some rust could be expected from a guy with a fairly high walk rate. Meanwhile, the Rays are hot and have their ace facing a cold team. A Tampa victory makes sense.
Rays vs Blue Jays prediction: Rays 5, Blue Jays 2
