Saturday’s MLB slate concludes with a couple of games on the West Coast — at 9:10 p.m. EST, the Toronto Blue Jays (68-49) travel to sunny California to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers (67-49). The Jays keep riding high lately as the American League’s best team, so they may have the upper hand against a struggling NL contender that can’t seem to get back on the right foot.
Here’s a Dodgers vs. Blue Jays prediction and pick for Saturday’s outing.
Dodgers vs. Blue Jays prediction, preview
The Dodgers are the home team tonight and beat these Blue Jays 5-1 last night, but things haven’t looked too bright following the All-Star Game. In the few weeks since the season resumed, Los Angeles sits 9-10 overall and they’ve alternated wins and losses over their last nine games. Despite an embarrassment of riches in the batting order, the Dodgers rank 23rd in scoring, 16th in average and 13th in OPS since the ASG. They’ve also struck out the 10th-most times of any team. It’s the worst slump they’ve experienced all season and a far cry from the top-three offense seen throughout most of the season.
Based on the stats, you’d almost think these teams swapped lineups. The Blue Jays are 13-8 over the same span and had won five of their last seven before last night’s road loss. Toronto’s offense effortlessly ranks first in scoring since the ASG with 137 runs — the next-closest team is the MLB-best Brewers with 116 — while leading all of baseball with a .321 average and .907 OPS. Yes, those are team averages, and they also boast the fewest strikeouts, fifth-most walks and fourth-most homers over the same sample. They’re simply rolling over most competition when this offense finds its gear.
On the mound tonight, Dodgers lefty Blake Snell (3.21 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 12 SO) makes his fourth start of the season and second since April. He duels against the Blue Jays’ Chris Bassitt (4.12 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 126 SO) who brings some soft-contact pitching to the table.
Dodgers vs. Blue Jays pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Dodgers as -163 home favorites on the Moneyline. The Blue Jays hold +134 odds to win outright with the run total set at 8.5.
The Dodgers played well in last night’s opener to the series, tallying 10 hits with five runs. Shohei Ohtani did Shohei Ohtani things with three hits and a pair of runs, while Mookie Betts finally put forth a standout effort with a couple of hits, one of which went for a homer, and three RBIs. Three Blue Jays tallied multi-hit efforts with seven knocks as a team, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to muster more than a single run.
That lack of scoring for Toronto felt like more of an aberration than anything else, especially given how this offense produced in recent weeks. Their numbers speak for themselves and the team hasn’t lost back-to-back games since July 29. As the MLB’s best offense at the moment, they should recapture some momentum tonight even against Snell, who looked solid with five hits allowed, three earned runs and eight strikeouts in his last start after a long hiatus. He probably won’t pitch more than five or six innings anyways, so the Blue Jays can do their damage against L.A.’s underperforming bullpen in the later innings as well.
Blue Jays +1.5 holds appeal at -150, but the Moneyline provides a better payout.
Best bet: TOR Blue Jays ML (+134)
Click the odds on this bet to tail!
