The New York Yankees (76-76) entered this week trying to keep their faint Wild Card hopes alive. Two emphatic victories later, the Toronto Blue Jays (85-67) have stuffed those hopes into a trash can — and vaulted themselves into the second AL Wild Card spot to boot. Now the Jays will go for a Yankee Stadium sweep and their sixth win in a row on Thursday night, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. ET. Righty Jose Berrios (11-10, 3.49 ERA) gets the ball for the visitors, while Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (13-4, 2.81) looks to make his closing argument for the AL Cy Young Award.
New York enters as -135 favorites on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook, with Toronto at +114. The run total is set at 7.
Blue Jays-Yankees picks: Thursday, September 21
Injury report
Blue Jays
Day to day: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (knee), SP Yusei Kikuchi (shoulder cramp)
Out: 1B Brandon Belt (lumbar spine muscle spasms), C Danny Jansen (fractured right middle finger)
Yankees
Day to day: RP Wandy Peralta (triceps), OF Everson Pereira (hamstring)
Out: OF Jasson Domínguez (elbow), RP Keynan Middleton (right shoulder inflammation)
Starting pitchers
Jose Berrios vs. Gerrit Cole
After scuffling a bit in August, Berrios has been dialed all the way in so far this month, with a 1.80 ERA and 0.85 WHIP across his first three starts. He was dominant last time out, shutting down the Boston Red Sox for eight strikeouts over seven scoreless innings as his slurve continued to do absolute work at the bottom of the zone. Berrios has faced the Yankees just once this season, but it was a memorable one, with three runs allowed and eight Ks over 6.2 innings in Toronto back in May.
In a topsy-turvy pitching season — both for the Yankees and for the AL as a whole — Cole has been a rock, with two or fewer runs allowed and at least six innings pitched in 16 of his last 19 starts. He’s not quite as dominant as Astros-era Cole, with somewhat diminished velocity and K/whiff rates, but he’s still as complete a pitcher as you’ll find, with great command of four pitches that he can throw anywhere to any batter in any count. He’s also yet to allow a run against Toronto this year, with 11.2 scoreless innings across two starts against the Jays.
Over/Under pick
The Yankees have scored a total of two runs so far in this series, and given their struggles against righties of late (second-highest K rate, second-lowest OPS in the Majors since September 1), that trend should continue against Berrios. With Cole likely throwing up zeroes on the other side, I think we’re headed for the under despite this very low number.
Pick: Under 7
Moneyline pick
I’ll be honest, I’m a little bit confused by this line. Yes, Cole has been great for the Yankees, he Blue Jays are red-hot of late and New York has struggled to give their ace much of any run support of late. At the end of the day, I trust Toronto’s lineup to come up with a big hit late more than I trust the Yankees’, especially if I can get the more talented team at plus odds.
Pick: Blue Jays +114
