This will be the second game of a four-game set between the Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays. The game will be played in the Rogers Centre, the 18th-ranked stadium according to Statcast for park factor. As of the time of this writing, the Blue Jays are up 11-0 in the seventh inning of the series opener.
The Athletics are 23-33 on the season and 14-14 on the road. They are much better on the road, as they’ve won only nine of 28 games at home. Toronto is 27-28 and 16-12 at home. The Athletics are the cellar dwellar in the American League West while Toronto is third in the American League East.
The Athletics are in the midst of a six-game road trip. Over the last 14 games, the Athletics won only one and had an 11-game losing streak. Toronto just finished a six-game road trip and are now home for seven games. Over the last 10 games, Toronto is 5-5.
Jeffrey Springs is scheduled to pitch for the Athletics while Chris Bassitt should get the nod for Toronto.
Athletics at Blue Jays prediction, preview
Jeffrey Springs is a soft-tossing lefty that averages 90.5 mph on the fastball. The strikeout rate is only 18.8% and the K-BB% is a paltry 9.6%. Through 59 innings, Springs has walked 23 batters and served up nine home runs. The ERA is a respectable 3.97, but the 4.63 FIP doesn’t support it. The BABIP is only .234.
Springs has pitched much better on the road, limiting the opposition to a slash of .179/.250/.308 with a .252 wOBA. Eight of his nine home runs allowed have been to right-handed batters. He’s allowed over three earned runs three times and has given up fewer than two earned runs in four starts.
Against left-handed pitching, the Blue Jays have struck out at the seventh-lowest rate while having the 17th-best ISO. The wOBA is 12th-best.
Chris Bassitt only averages 91.2 mph on the fastball, but the swinging strike rate is 10.4% while the strikeout rate is a respectable 23.7%. The walk rate is a miniscule 4.9% as well. Through 61.1 innings, Bassitt has allowed seven home runs and the 3.38 ERA is supported by the 3.23 FIP.
Bassitt has been much better at home than on the road, giving up only five earned runs in 28 innings compared to 18 earned runs in 33.1 innings on the road.
The bugaboo for Bassitt is the struggle against left-handed batters, who are slashing .323/.362/.492 with four home runs.
The Athletics have struck out at the sixth-lowest rate against right-handed pitching while being 10th in ISO. They are 14th in wOBA.
As for bullpens, the Athletics have the sixth-highest FIP while Toronto has the eighth-lowest.
Athletics at Blue Jays pick, best bet
The Blue Jays righties have been teeing off on Thursday, as Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Ernie Clement have all homered. I’m not expecting that kind of production on Friday, but I think some damage can be done against Springs. On the flip side, Bassitt has pitched very well at home. I think he and the Blue Jays bullpen can keep the Athletics offense at bay.
