Our Blue Jays vs. Braves prediction for Tuesday night sets up an intriguing matchup between a Toronto club trying to steady itself and an Atlanta team that has been rolling this season. With Kevin Gausman on the mound for the Jays and Ronald Acuña Jr. in top form for the Braves, this game offers plenty of betting angles to consider.
Blue Jays vs. Braves prediction
Ronald Acuna Jr. over 0.5 walks: +140 best odds @ Betano
Acuna Jr. over 0.5 walks
Acuna Jr. is tearing the cover of the ball right now, bashing five homers over his last four games, so bettors can expect Blue Jays hurlers to pitch him very carefully on Tuesday night, with the possibility of an intentional walk a serious possibility, especially if a situation arises with an open base and runners on.
The Braves outfielder has a keen eye at the plate to begin with, as evidenced by his elite 15.9% walk rate, which ranks in the 98th percentile in the majors. He’s drawn at least one walk in five straight games and seven of his last nine.
Overall, Acuna Jr. has earned a walk in 48% of his games (22 of 46) this season, which means we’re getting exceptional value at +140 (41.6% implied odds).
Gausman does boast elite control and excels at limiting walks, but Acuna Jr. is so hot right now that there’s a serious chance Toronto pitches around him whenever possible. It’s also hard to imagine that Toronto’s shaky bullpen will give him anything around the plate to hit in this contest.
Make sure you shop around for the most favourable odds at the best MLB betting sites before locking in your wagers.
Greg’s Blue Jays predictions are 16-9-2 for +5.39 units this season.
Blue Jays vs. Braves odds
| Blue Jays moneyline odds | +110 |
| Braves moneyline odds | -130 |
| Run line odds | Braves -1.5 (+160), Blue Jays +1.5 (-190) |
| Game total | Over 7.5 runs (-120), Under 7.5 (+100) |
| Date/time | June 2, 7:15 p.m. ET |
Betting the Blue Jays (29-31 SU, 29-31 ATS, 30-29-1 o/u)
It was a tough weekend for the Blue Jays, who dropped a 6-5 contest to the Baltimore Orioles in heartbreaking fashion and then followed that up with a 9-5 loss on Sunday. However, they still earned a four-game road split with the Orioles to keep them within striking distance of the .500 mark entering this tough series with Atlanta.
Reliever Jeff Hoffman imploded on Saturday, coughing up five runs in the ninth inning to blow his third save in eight tries this season. Major injuries to Toronto’s pitching staff have put a major strain on the bullpen, which will surely benefit from a day off on Monday before the start of this series with the Braves. Relievers Adam Macko, Spencer Miles, and Braydon Fisher have all made starts over the last six games for the injury-ravaged Blue Jays.
Toronto has averaged just 3.7 runs per game on the road this season, which ranks as the fourth-worst mark in the majors.
Betting the Braves (40-20 SU, 38-22 ATS, 28-29-3 o/u)
The Braves have built a 9 1/2-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for the top spot in the AL East Division through 60 games and are in total cruise control right now.
Atlanta is coming off road series wins against the Cincinnati Reds and Red Sox and will now play its next six games at Truist Park, with the Pittsburgh Pirates set to arrive after the Blue Jays depart later this week.
Atlanta has been one of the most dynamic teams in baseball this season, ranking in the top three in the majors in runs per game (5.3), runs allowed per game (3.5), hits per game (8.9), OPS (.761), home runs (84), ERA (3.16) and WHIP (1.15).
Probable starting pitchers
Toronto: RHP Kevin Gausman (4-3, 3.13 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 8.61 K/9)
Gausman has been fabulous over his last three starts, allowing just two earned runs while striking out 18 batters over 17 2/3 innings in that span.
He ranks in the 98th percentile in walk rate (4.3%) and 87th percentile in chase rate (34.7%) this season, as hitters continue to be baffled by his devastating splitter and rising fastball combination.
It should be noted that Gausman has struggled a bit across seven night starts this season, recording a 4.35 ERA while allowing opponents to hit .252 off of him.
Atlanta: RHP Bryce Elder (4-3, 2.50 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 7.63 K/9)
Elder was having a fine month of May until the Boston Red Sox roughed him up for five earned runs on nine hits over 3 1/3 innings last Wednesday. It was by far the right-hander’s worst start of the season, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can rebound on his home mound Tuesday against the Blue Jays.
Elder has been superb at Truist Park this season, owning a sparkling 2.08 ERA while holding opponents to a .226 batting average.
The 27-year-old has been especially tough on left-handed hitters this season, holding them to a .150/.243/.240 slash line with a .483 OPS.
Notable injuries
The following players are on the injured list for Toronto:
- OF Anthony Santander (shoulder)
- P Cody Ponce (knee)
- C Alejandro Kirk (thumb)
- P Jose Berrios (elbow)
- P Shane Bieber (elbow)
- P Yimi Garcia (elbow)
- P Bowden Francis (elbow)
- P Dylan Cease (hamstring)
- P Max Scherzer (forearm)
- OF Addison Barger (arm)
- P Joe Mantiply (knee)
- P Tommy Nance (forearm)
OF Jesus Sanchez is day-to-day with a wrist contusion.
The following players are on the injured list for Atlanta:
- C Sean Murphy (finger)
- P Joe Jimenez (knee)
- C Drake Baldwin (oblique)
- P AJ Smith-Shawver (elbow)
- P Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow)
- P Hurston Waldrep (elbow)
Weather
Forecasts are calling for temperatures around 21 C with a 40% chance of showers this evening in Atlanta. Winds will blow out to right field at 12 mph.
Blue Jays vs. Braves betting trends
- The Blue Jays are 7-3 in the past 10 meetings.
- Toronto is 12-18 SU on the road this season.
- Atlanta is 15-9 SU against AL foes this season.
- The over is 10-4 in Atlanta’s last 14 games.
- The Braves have hit the team total over in 33 of their last 50 games.
Blue Jays vs. Braves player prop trends
- Gausman has recorded five strikeouts or less in nine of his last 10 starts and is -125 to record under 5.5 strikeouts against a very disciplined Braves team striking out an average of just 7.88 times per game (seventh best in MLB).
- Nathan Lukes is riding an eight-game hitting streak into action Tuesday and is -220 to extend that streak.
- Jorge Mateo has cleared his line of over 1.5 total bases in five straight games and eight of his last 10. He’s slashing .368/.400/.737 over the last seven days.
- Acuna Jr. has drawn at least one walk in five straight games and seven of his last 10. He walks 15.9% of the time (96th percentile in the majors) and is +135 to earn a walk on Tuesday night.
- Acuna Jr. has also homered in four straight games with a total of five long balls in that span. He’s +335 to extend that streak.
