The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to get back in the win column on Wednesday night after having their four-game winning streak snapped by the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.
San Diego used four home runs to power itself to a convincing 9-1 victory in the opener of a three-game set with Toronto. Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker was ejected early in the game for speaking out after several questionable ball-and-strike calls from home plate umpire Malachi Moore on starter Alek Manoah.
The loss was just Toronto’s second in the last 10 games dating back to before the All-Star break.
Toronto is a -120 favourite to win at FanDuel on Wednesday and the total is set at nine runs.
Padres vs. Blue Jays odds
| Padres Moneyline Odds | +102 |
| Blue Jays Moneyline Odds | -120 |
| Runline odds | Blue Jays +1.5 (-205), Padres -1.5 (+168) |
| Over/Under | 9 runs (over +104, under -128) |
| Time/Date | Wednesday, July 19, 7:07 p.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: Sportsnet/SN NOW |
About the Padres (45-50 SU, 47-48 ATS, 40-50-5 o/u)
With a 45-50 record, the Padres have been one of baseball’s biggest disappointments to this point in the season. However, the bats came alive Tuesday to produce nine runs on nine hits to help snap a three-game slide for the squad. Four of those hits were homers.
San Diego enters play on Wednesday 7 1/2 games back of a Wild Card spot in the National League, but the star-studded team still has a 26.7% chance of making the playoffs despite being five games below .500, according to FanGraphs.
The Padres have struggled mightily at the plate as a team this season, ranking 24th in team batting average (.235), 12th in on-base percentage (.324), and 15th in OPS (.732), despite boasting elite offensive talents like Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Xander Bogaerts, among others, on their roster.
Soto could be on the verge of breaking out, though, after scoring three times and driving in three runs in Tuesday’s victory. He was hitting just .171 over his first 10 games of the month.
Tuesday’s victory was just San Diego’s fourth in its past 16 road contests.
About the Blue Jays (53-42 SU, 42-53 ATS, 42-48-5 o/u)
The Blue Jays have to be careful not to let their frustrations with the umpiring crew spill over into Wednesday’s contest. Several non-strike calls earlier in at-bats led to San Diego runs on Tuesday and that seemed to demoralize the Blue Jays for the remainder of the game.
Prior to Tuesday’s loss, the Blue Jays had won eight of their last nine games, holding the opposition to five runs or less in each of those contests. Toronto has vaulted into a playoff spot in the American League as a result of the run, but still finds itself 5 1/2 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East standings.
On the injury front, the Blue Jays could be getting some pitching reinforcements shortly. Lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, is slated for another minor league rehab start on Friday, which could be his last before rejoining the team. Reliever Chad Green, also coming off Tommy John surgery, is expected to begin a rehab assignment in the minors on Saturday. Kevin Gausman is still considered day-to-day with left-side discomfort and it’s unclear if he’ll make his next start.
Blue Jays Moneyline
Probable pitchers
San Diego: RHP Yu Darvish (6-6, 4.65 ERA, 9.69 K/9, 1.26 WHIP)
Darvish is 3-3 with a sparkling 2.68 ERA in eight career starts against Toronto, but he’s been horrible on the road this year as evidenced by his lofty 5.52 ERA away from Petco Park. The veteran righty is coming off a strong start against the Philadelphia Phillies. He racked up nine strikeouts over six innings of work while allowing a single run.
Toronto: RHP Jose Berrios (8-6, 3.41 ERA, 8.34 K/9, 1.16 WHIP)
Berrios is on a good run, allowing just one run and eight hits in 12 1/3 innings of work over his last two starts. He held the Arizona Diamondbacks to a single run over 5 1/3 innings to earn a no-decision last time he took the mound. Berrios has only one career start against the Padres, but it’s highly irrelevant from a betting perspective as it was back in 2017.
Weather
Forecasts are calling for temperatures around 23C and sunny skies at first pitch, which means the retractable dome should be open at Rogers Centre. Wind won’t be a factor in this one.
Betting trends
- The Blue Jays have covered the 1st five Innings (F5) runline in four of their last five games at home.
- The Padres have covered the runline in 10 of their last 13 games.
- The under is 5-2 in Toronto’s last seven games overall.
Player prop trends
- Padres outfielder Trent Grisham has hit safely in eight straight games. He’s -135 to record a hit in this one.
- George Springer and Brandon Belt are both 6-for-18 (.333 batting average) and have two homers apiece in their careers against Darvish. They’re +390 and +360, respectively, to homer off him Wednesday. Daulton Varsho also has two career homers off Darvish in 21 career at-bats against him (+470 to homer).
- Machado is heating up for the Padres, with nine homers and 19 RBIs in July. He also owns a .417 career batting average with a home run in 12 at-bats against Berrios.
Wagers to consider
- Why not consider backing the red-hot Machado to continue raking? He’s +390 to homer, +200 to record two or more hits, +130 to drive in a run, and -105 to record a run.
- Soto is coming off a big game and is +145 to drive in a run. He’s driven in a run in three straight games and four of his last five.
